those eligible to leave as soon as possible.
We are grateful
for the list of some 70 names given to us this morning by the
Vietnamese Delegation of those for whom agreement has now been
given to leave Vietnam under the UK's ODP programme.
The situation has changed since the last ODP consultations in
Geneva in May. The general picture concerning boat people,
refugees and asylum-seekers in South East Asia has continued
In the first half of this year, the British
to evolve.
Government was particularly concerned about the situation in
Hong Kong which, after improving over the years, sharply
deteriorated.
The Hong Kong Government introduced a policy to
screen boat people arriving in Hong Kong after 15 June 1988
and we ourselves have maintained a close dialogue with the
Vietnamese Government on the question of Vietnamese boat
people. We welcome this close dialogue and the willingness of
the Vietnamese Government to discuss the return of groups of
their citizens who have left in a clandestine fashion and are
determined through the screening processes not to be refugees.
We welcome what the Minister said about the progress of the
negotiations so far. We shall keep in close contact with the
SRV. We agree it is an important step in the process of
finding solutions to the problem of the Vietnamese boat
people.