HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
香港立法局————————————一九八九年七月五日
5 July 1989
85
failure to deal with Vietnamese boat people realistically is a disappointment to us, although you, Sir, and other members of the British delegation led by Sir Geoffrey HOWE, had put in tremendous effort to draw attention to the Hong Kong predicament and seek to persuade the Americans and the Vietnamese. I would like to place on record our appreciation of the British delegation, and you, Sir, in particular. I shall not repeat what I have said in this Council on 17 May 1989 when we debated the problem of Vietnamese boat people, but I do wish to associate myself with the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Committee with regard to the United States and People's Republic of China.
Every one in this Chamber is fully aware of the seriousness of the boat people problem, and the need to implement repatriation in large numbers urgently in order to reverse the flow. Some of my colleagues will speak on the community's frustration and demand for more drastic measures. I only wish to reiterate that the problem of Vietnamese boat people is a matter of foreign affairs, and as such, the problem rests squarely in the court of the British Government. Hong Kong has been upholding British honour over the past decade by abiding by the policy of first asylum faithfully even under the most adverse conditions. Hong Kong's taxpayers had spent over $2.4 billion on this. Hong Kong had been the victim of irresponsible and ignorant criticisms. The daily life of many residents has been disrupted. With a population density of 5 200 per sq km, we are already accommodating over 48 000 Vietnamese refugees and boat people, with more yet to come. To put this in the context of the United Kingdom which has 230 per sq km, it means having to accommodate one million people. Against all odds, Hong Kong is still offering a safe haven for the Vietnamese boat people. Have any British dependent territories ever done so much for so long to uphold British honour and principle? What have Hong Kong got in return?
The British subjects in Hong Kong have their right of abode in the United Kingdom removed by successive acts of Parliament, in which we have no representative. When OMELCO requested the restoration of that right, the Vietnamese boat people problem was used to undermine Hong Kong's case. If I may, Sir, I would like to clarify the issue for those who genuinely misunderstood it, and refute those British politicians who used insinuation to mislead the unsuspecting British public for their own political ends.
Due to the limitation of time under our five minutes rule, I shall only make four points:
1. Britain is Hong Kong's sovereign state, and thereby has a direct
constitutional moral responsibility to the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong