XN000022-1989-05-17 — Page 15

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989

13

AS

"VIETNAM WANTS TO PLAY THE GAME ACCORDING TO THEIR RULES AND THEY SEEM TO BE GAINING SUCCESS. BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE TO USE HUMANS THEIR WEAPON, THE UNHCR AND HUMANITARIAN AND REFUGEE ORGANISATIONS ARE LED BY THE NOSE BY VIETNAM, SHE SAID.

SHE SUGGESTED THAT EVEN IF VIETNAM

AGREED THE GENEVA

FIND

TAKE EFFECTIVE CONFERENCE.

WAY

BIND THE

MWAY

MEASURES TO STOP THE OUTFLOW

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WOULD NEED VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT TO THEIR AGREEMENT, AND ENSURE THAT SHOULD VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT

BACK

THEIR WORDS,

FINANCIALLY OR OTHERWISE AS A RESULT OF SUCH ACTION.

WOULD

THE SUFFER

TURNING TO THE UNITED STATES, MRS FAN SAID THAT WHILE ADVOCATING HIGH-SOUNDING AND ADMIRABLE PRINCIPLES OF ENSURING "SAFE AND HUMANE TREATMENT FOR ALL ASYLUM SEEKERS", THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAD CONVENIENTLY TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE PROBLEMS FACED BY HONG KONG.

THE TERRITORY HAD HAD TO ACCOMMODATE THE MASSIVE AND NEVER ENDING INFLUX OF BOAT PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE MAIN REJECTED BY THE SELECTION CRITERIA PASSED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS AND IMPLEMENTED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THEMSELVES.

AND THEIR GOVERNMENT WERE NOT

IN ESSENCE, U.S. CONGRESSMEN PRACTISING WHAT THEY WERE PREACHING. SHE SAID.

U.S.

MOREOVER, WHILE THE

GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT EVEN ALLOW ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM HAITI TO LAND. THEY EXPECTED HONG KONG,

A WITH POPULATION DENSITY 250 TIMES THAT OF THE U.S.. TO ACCOMMODATE FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD BOAT PEOPLE SCREENED OUT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS,

"THE DOUBLE STANDARD SO BLATANTLY

APPLIED -IS GROSSLY UNFAIR

TO HONG KONG," SHE SAID.

REFERRING TO BRITAIN, MRS FAN SAID THAT, SADLY PEOPLE WHO MADE DECISIONS IN THE UK WERE CONSTANTLY LOBBYISTS AS TO THE REAL SITUATION IN HONG KONG,

ENOUGH,

MISLED

THE BY

SHE FOUND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT AS ONE OF THE CLOSEST ALLIES NOT EVEN RELATE OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, THE UK FOREIGN OFFICE COULD THE FACTS TO THEIR FRIENDS IN THE

AND

CONGRESS.

1.5. GOVERNMENT, SENATE

THE

IN THIS RESPECT, THE LOBBYISTS FROM VOLUNTARY AGENCIES SEEMED TO BE DOING A FAR MORE EFFECTIVE JOB THAN

HIGHLY CAPABLE AND EXPERIENCED DIPLOMATS OF THE THE FOREIGN OFFICE.

PEOPLE

HONG IN

RESETTLEMENT MRS FAN SAID THE

FIGURES CONCERNING VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN THE UK HAD NOT BEEN IMPRESSIVE AT ALL IN RECENT YEARS,

BOAT BEARING IN MIND THAT THE ARRIVAL RATE OF IN ONE MONTH. SAY APRIL AND MAY THIS YEAR, WAS MORE THAN 10 TIMES ANNUAL INTAKE OF THE UK,

KONG

THE

*APART FROM THE SMALL

ALSO OFFERS A READY EXCUSE TO THE V.S. FOR REFUSING TO GIVE

TO MORE CONSIDERATION

THAT HONG VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG, BY SIMPLY POINTING OUT KONG IS THE UK'S RESPONSIBILITY." SHE ADDED.

INTAKE, THE

IIK

/MRS FAN ***