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The Vietnamese migrant problem is an international problem. Hong Kong cannot go it alone. We rely heavily on the co-operation of our CPA partners in moving forward, and their actions can impinge adversely on what we are seeking to achieve. At no time has this been more evident than in 1995.
In May this year, legislative initiatives introduced by some US Congressmen which, by creating false hopes of overseas resettlement for the non-refugees, caused voluntary repatriation in Hong Kong, and indeed in the Southeast Asian region to nosedive. This was a serious blow to our work. Since May this year, only 750 migrants have chosen to go home voluntarily.
We have made representations to the US Administration, which firmly say that they remain committed to the CPA and would actively seek solutions to the problem. They are fully aware of our concerns, and those of other first asylum countries. The US Administration has now opened negotiations with the Vietnamese authorities on what has become known as TRACK II. Under these arrangements, non-refugees who satisfy certain criteria would be eligible for resettlement in the United States alter they have returned to Vietnam. While the TRACK II proposal per se might not necessarily prompt large numbers of VMs in Hong Kong to volunteer to go home, it will reintroduce certainty into the principle and objective of the CPA. We are also hopeful that TRACK II will be accompanied by an unequivocal statement from the US Administration that there will be no further concessions to Vietnamese migrants in camps, thus ending the current impasse in voluntary repatriation generated by false hopes of resettlement elsewhere.
Specific Timetable
I would like to be able to set out for Honourable Members a firm timetable for the closure of our camps. However, this is not possible, because the cards in this game are not all in our hand. We rely on the cooperation of others and, in particular, that of Vietnam to step up the pace of repatriation. It is for this reason that the Refugee Coordinator will hold talks in Hanoi, on 4 December, with the Vietnamese authorities, with a view to expediting the clearance of VMs for return and simplifying the associated procedures. The rate of return is determined, to a large extent, by voluntary repatriation, the pace of which has proved to be acutely sensitive to events outside our control. However, the lack of a detailed timetable in no way calls into question our determination to bring this saga to an end as soon as possible. It remains our objective to close the camps before July 1997.