1
}
1885/E/88
Translation
A petition to Princess Anne: A representation to the British
Government regarding the problem of Vietnamese refugees.
Princess Anne :
17.9.1988
How are you? We would like to welcome you to HK. It is
known to all your efforts in international chairtable work for which you are held in high esteem.
In view of your lofty and royal status in Britain, we respectfully
hope you will forward our views to the British Government and other
departments concerned. Thank you.
The British Government :
The way the British Government helps HK handle the problem of
Vietnamese stranded in HK is most unsatisfactory.
The major problem about stranded Vietnamese in HK is twofold : (1) how to arrange, as soon as possible, for the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in other countries; (2) how to stop more Vietnamese
from coming to HK.
In the first place, the British Government has failed in its duties in that it took in only a limited number of refugees. From 1979
to the end of July this year, Britain only accepted 13,000 refugees, much lower than the intake of 20,000 by Canada and nearly 60,000 by the
United States. Britain claims to be the sovereign country of HK, it spares no efforts in asking HK to fulfill its obligation as a dependent territory (such as to share the defence cost and to buy British products, etc.), but when it comes to protecting the interest of HK, Britain is weak, incompetent, hypocritical and irresponsible. We strongly
denounce the British Government for this.
/......