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DRAFT SPEECH BY DR HON HENRIETTA IP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 15.5.85
Adjournment Debate on
The Vietnamese Refugee Problem in Hong Kong
Sir,
In the global management of refugees, one ought to distinguish between the different roles played by countries of first asylum and countries of final resettlement. The former have to cope with large numbers of refugees without choice whereas the latter have ample time to choose whom they like. A comparison of how much a country assists in tackling the refugee problem must be made like with like.
For the Vietnamese Refugees, 13 countries are quoted to be of the former type with 6 Southeast Asian countries bearing 97% of the total turnover of half a million Vietnamese. Hong Kong ranks second and have up till 1985, coped with the arrival of more than 110,000 of them.
All these 6 countries operate some form of closed camps to cope with such large influxes, with Hong Kong being the last to follow suit. As seen from UNHCR figures, none of
these 6 countries seem to have accepted for permanent resettlement any of the refugees who arrived at their shores,
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HONG KONG.
IN ESSENCE HONG KONG HAS PERFORMED A DUAL ROLE!
The executive committee of the high commissioners
programme upon the recommendation of its subcommittee on international protection of refugees, at their 13th session, concluded that "in cases of large scale influx, persons seeking
asylum should always receive at least temporary refuge
"I
.HONG KONG IS DOING MORE THAN THAT. the reason why the
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