THE POSSIBILITY OF RESETTLING SOME
VIETNAMESE WITHIN HONG KONG ITSELF
I WOULD BE MISLEADING THE COMMITTEE IF I GAVE ANY IMPRESSION
THAT THIS IS A REALISTIC POSSIBILITY. I MUST STATE FIRMLY THAT
IN MY VIEW IT IS NOT. HONG KONG HAS ABSORBED OVER 14,000
DISPLACED PERSONS FROM INDO-CHINA SINCE 1975. IT IS ONE OF THE
MOST DENSELY POPULATED PLACES IN THE WORLD, AND ANNUALLY ABSORPS
LARGE NUMBERS OF IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA. HONG KONG PEOPLE WOULD
STRONGLY RESENT FURTHER SETTLEMENT OF VIETNAMESE PERSONS, WHEN
ILLEGAL CHINESE IMMIGRANTS, WITH WHOM THEY HAVE CLOSER TIES,
ARE BEING REPATRIATED DAILY. 230,000 HAVE BEEN REPATRIATED
SINCE 1980.
IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO CONVINCE THEM THAT
VIETNAMESE SHOULD BE TREATED AS A SPECIAL CASE AND ABSORBED IN
I LARGER NUMBERS THAN THE PRESENT IMMIGRATION CRITERIA ALLOW.
NEED HARDLY REMIND YOU THAT AS A PLACE OF FIRST ASYLUM, HONG
KONG HAS ALREADY DEVOTED SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCES TO GIVING SHELTER
TO OVER 100,000 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES SINCE 1975. THIS IS AN
ADMIRABLE RECORD.