XN000022-1989-05-17 — Page 17

15

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989

HE SAID MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THE SCREENING POLRY DECISION OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT.

WAS THE

THIS WAS CLEARLY NOT SO, BECAUSE THE ISSUE INVOLVED

HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL RELATIONS, AND

KONG'S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT,

WHETHER THE MR LEE SAID THE QUESTION NO ONE HAD YET ASKED WAS

INTEREST OF HONG LONG OR THE SCREENING POLICY WAS IN THE KINGDOM.

UNITED

BONG

IF ALL ARRIVALS FROM VIETNAM WERE ADMITTED AS REFUGEES TO KONG AS A PORT OF FIRST ASYLUM, THEN

COUNTRIES ALL THE RECEIVING INCLUDING THE UNITED KINGDOM WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THEM FROM HONG KONG.

OVER SOVEREIGNT,

HONG FROM HONG KONG THAN OTHER

AND SINCE THE UNITED KINGDOM EXERCISED KONG, IT WOULD BE EXPECTED TO TAKE MORE COUNTRIES.

POLICY, ABOUT

MR LEE SAID SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE SCREENING 90 PER CENT OF THE ARRIVALS WERE SCREENED OUT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

KEPT IN

AS SUCH, THEY HAD TO BE

('ENTRES CLOSED COSTING THE TAXPAYERS MORE MONEY TO RUN THAN IF THEY WERE REFUGEES AND KEPT IN CLOSED CAMPS.

WHICH WERE TREATED AS

BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, ONCE THE

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

VIETNAMESE BOAT

SCREENED OUT AS

THE RECEIVING INCLUDING THE UNITED KINGDOM, HAD NO MORE OBLIGATION TO AND THEY BECAME HONG KONG'S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY.

PEOPLE WERE

COUNTRIES, ACCEPT TREM,

IF

SCREENING POLICY WHEN BUT WHY SHOULD HONG KONG ADOPT THE

HAD NOT DETERRED HAD INCREASED HONG KONG'S FINANCIAL BURDEN AND YET THE PEOPLE OF VIETNAM FROM COMING HERE? HE ASKED.

REDUCED THE

THE ANSWER WAS THAT THE

POLICY SCREENING RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO ACCEPT REFUGEES FROM

HONG

KONG.

IMPLEMENTING A WAY TO

IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCE OF MR LEE ADDED THAT THE

MUST THINK OF HONG KONG THE SCREENING POLICY WAS THAT REPATRIATE THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SCREENED OUT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

THE PROBLEM,

ON

BUT VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION ALONE WOULD NOT SOLVE AND IT SEEMED EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THAT THERE WOULD BE ANY AGREEMENT FORCED REPATRIATION IN GENEVA NEXT MONTH.

BUT EVEN IF THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT WERE TO AGREE TO REPATRIATION, THE CHANCES ARE THAT HONG KONG WILL BE REQUIRED IN ONE WAY OR OTHER," HE SAID.

FORCED TO PAY

KONG NOT TO CONTINUE TO MAKE PROBLEM THEMSELVES.

FOR THESE REASONS, HE URGED COUNCILLORS AND THE PEOPLE OF

THE

OF MISTAKE

TRYING TO SOLVI

HONG THE

/IF THEY