-
6
"There is no question of the Bill seeking to encroach on human rights principles, and the Bill is in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," he said.
Noting that there are still 7,000 VMs whose return has not yet been cleared by the Vietnamese Government, the spokesman said: "The longer the loophole remains unplugged, the longer we will be exposed to the possibility of having to release more migrants."
"We therefore hope the Bill will be studied by the Legislative Council and passed into law as quickly as possible."
The Bill will be made available to all Legislative Council Members this afternoon and will be published in the Gazette this Friday.
A meeting of the Legislative Council Security Panel has been scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss the Bill.
End
119 VMs depart on Orderly Repatriation flight
A group of 119 Vietnamese migrants (VMs) returned by air to Hanoi, Vietnam today (Tuesday) on the 33rd flight under the Orderly Repatriation Programme (ORP).
All of the returnees, comprising 77 men, 26 women, six boys and 10 girls, are from North Vietnam.
The majority of them arrived in Hong Kong in 1989 and 1995, with the remaining in 1988 and 1991.
The group brought to 2,398 the total number repatriated on ORP flights since November 1991.
End
+