0027S
-Speech by
The Hon D G Jeaffresen, CBE JP
Secretary for Security
in Legislative Council on 11 November 1987
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY:
Sir,
Vietnamese Refugees
le
Five hon. Members have expressed great concern at our
continuing difficulties in respect of Vietnamese refugees. I
appreciate that the patience of Members of this Council and of
12 the people of Hong Kong is wearing thin after some twelve
years of granting first asylum to boat people from Vietnam on
the one hand and the difficulties we are experiencing in
getting the resettlement countries to accept them for
resettlement on the other. My hon. Friend Mr Peter C WONG
rightly contrasted the way in which we have to accept all
illegal arrivals from Vietnam with our policy of returning all
illegal immigrants to China.
Sir, $ince 1975 some 120,000 boat people have arrived in
from Vietnam
ᎨᏎ
I
Hong Kong. More than 112,000 of them have been resettled.
must again record our profound thanks to all those countries,
both large and small, which have responded to our requests for
assistance. The United States alone has resettled more than
63,000 refugees from Hong Kong, and more than 25 other
countries have helped us.
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Revised