CONFIDENTIAL
FM WASHINGTON
ki
CONFIDENTIAL
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 2979
OF 162015Z NOVEMBER 89
INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, HANOI, UKMIS GENEVA
!
63
010433 MDHIAN 4959
MY 2 IPTS: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: BULL POINTS FOR USE WITH
THE PRESS
1.
HONG KONG HAS PROVIDED ASYLUM FOR VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE SINCE 1979. IN THAT PERIOD, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN TURNED BACK. BUT THE PROBLEM HAS NOW BECOME AN INTOLERABLE BURDEN FOR HONG KONG, NOT LEAST IN A TERRITORY WITH A POPULATION DENSITY OF 5192 PERSONS PER SQ KM (IN COMPARISON WITH THE US DENSITY OF 22). 2. THERE ARE NOW SOME SQUARE BRACKETS BEGIN BLANK SQUARE BRACKETS END VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG. OVER 30,000 OF THESE ARRIVED IN THE LAST SAILING SEASON.
3. HONG KONG HAS DEVOTED ENORMOUS RESOURCES SQUARE BRACKETS BEGIN SPECIFY SQUARE BRACKETS END TO THE CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT AND RUNNING OF THE CAMPS. BUT VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE CANNOT REMAIN
THERE FOR EVER: IT IS INHUMANE TO KEEP THEM IN TRANSIT CAMPS. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THEY MOVE ELSEWHERE.
4. THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN GENEROUS IN TAKING IN SOUTH VIETNAMESE. MOST VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE NOW IN HONG KONG ARE FROM THE NORTH. THEY MOSTLY WANT TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES, NOT TO STAY IN HONG KONG. BUT US REGULATIONS MAKE THIS IMPOSSIBLE, AND INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS OVER MANY YEARS TO RESETTLE THEM ELSEWHERE
HAVE NOT PRODUCED RESULTS.
5. THERE IS NO QUESTION OF RETURNING GENUINE REFUGEES AS DEFINED UNDER THE 1951 UN CONVENTION. THEY WILL BE RESETTLED AS SOON AS
PLACES CAN BE FOUND.
6. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY IN HONG KONG ARE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, NOT REFUGEES. THE PRINCIPLE THAT THEY SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH LONG STANDING INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE, WAS ENDORSED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES) AT THE UN CONFERENCE ON
INDO-CHINESE REFUGEES IN GENEVA IN JUNE. THIS PRINCIPLE IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS OXFAM AND SAVE THE
CHILDREN FUND.
7. CAREFUL SCREENING AND COUNSELLING HAVE BEEN IN PLACE IN HONG
KONG FOR NEARLY EIGHTEEN MONTHS. THE PURPOSE OF SCREENING IS TO DETERMINE WHICH VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE ARE GENUINE REFUGEES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 1951 UN CONVENTION ON STATUS OF REFUGEES.
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CONFIDENTIAL