~NDŽIAM INDARTANOVA SAN
Media reports and Comments on the visit to HK by Minister of State at the Home Office, David Waddington
(September 21 - 27, 1986)
Introduction
The seven-day visit to HK by the British Minister of State at the Home Office, David Waddington, received good coverage from both the print and electronic media. His arrival, his various activities here and his departure press conference were prominently reported. However, there was no public or press comment on his week-long visit.
Media reports
Mr Waddington's arrival was reported by TVB, Radio-3, Commercial Radio-English, and many papers. In an interview with TVB, Mr Waddington said he wanted to come to HK to look at the situation in VR camps here, to discuss with officials on refugee matters, and to talk to people on the new nationality order. He also said that the Foreign Office had launched a programme to educate the international community on the new BNO passport.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Mr Waddington said that he had discussed with the Foreign Office the "significance" of the new passport to be issued to HK residents before leaving London. "I am hopeful that visa abolition agreements with governments which have not previously required visas of British citizens of HK will be entered into and that a broad international recognition will be given to the new passport," Mr Waddington said.
The Minister's meetings with the Governor and Secretary for Security on September 23 received moderate coverage. He told reporters after the meetings that the long-term solution to the problem of Vietnamese refugees was to send them back to Vietnam because most of them were economic rather than political refugees. However, he added that repatriation could not begin until an agreement had been reached with the Vietnamese Government. On the BNO passport, Mr Waddington said that the FCO had taken steps to introduce the new passport to third countries.
Both the print and electronic media accorded good coverage to Mr Waddington's visit to the Chi Ma Wan Closed Camp on Lantau on September 24. Most Chinese papers in headlines quoted Mr Waddgington as saying that repatriation would be the only long-term answer to the Vietnamese refugee problem.