XN000022-1989-05-17 — Page 18

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989

16

IF THEY DID, THEY WOULD BRITISH GOVERNMENT.

BE PLAYING

INTO THE HANDS OF THE

AS

MR LEE OBSERVED THAT MANY PEOPLE IN HONG KONG BFI 1EVRD THAT

ASYLUM. SOON AS HONG KONG CHANGED ITS POLICY OF BEING A PORT OF FIRST THE WORRIES WOULD BE OVER. BUT THIS WAS NO SO.

GOVERNMENT COULD NOT COME FIRST, THE HONG KONG

TO SUCH

PERTAINED ΤΟ DECISION ON ITS OWN, FOR THIS

FOREIGN RELATIONS, AND THUS ONLY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT COULD SCRAP THE POLICY,

TO WERL SECONDLY, EVEN IF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT KONG TO DO SO, HONG KONG WAS STILL BOUND BY THE CUSTOMARY

INTERNATIONAL LAW OF "NON-REFOULEMENT".

ALLOW HONG OR GENERAL

OF BRANDED AS

PEOPLE MIGHT NOT BE AND THIS MEANT THAT THE VIETNAMESE BOAT

UNLESS THEY WERE IN NO DANGER FORCIBLY RETURNED TO VIETNAM

NOT MATTER WHETHER THEY WERE PERSECUTION, AND IT DID REFUGEES OR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

ARRIVALS IF HONG KONG CEASED TO BE A PORT OF FIRST ASYLUM, ALL

COUNTRIES WOULD HAVE WOULD BE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, AND THE RECEIVING NO OBLIGATION TO ACCEPT THEM.

FOR THIS REASON, HONG KONG WOULD BE WORSE OFF SHOULD BEING A PORT OF FIRST ASYLUM.

ET CEASE

HAS NOT

UNFORTUNATE "IT IS SINGULARLY

THAT OUR GOVERNMENT HAS

IT ALLOWED

TO BECOME CLEARED UP THIS MISUNDERSTANDING, BUT GIGANTIC RED HERRING BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THIS CHAMBER,

[1

HE SAID.

A

BOAT PEOPLE IN A WAR-TORN

MR LEE ALSO HOPED THAT THE GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WOULD SOW THE SEED OF LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING TOWARDS THE BECAUSE, AFTER ALL, THEY WERE THE UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS COUNTRY WITH A BROKEN ECONOMY.

FROM VOTING ON THE CONCLUDING, MR LEE SAID HE WOULD ABSTAIN MOTION BECAUSE ITS WORDING IMPLIED ACCEPTANCE OF THE SCREENING POLICY,

THAN WHICH HE BELIEVED WAS MORE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM HONG HONG,

NOR WAS THE MOTION CLEAR AS TO WHETHER HONG KONG WOULD HAVE PAY ANYTHING UNDER THE REPATRIATION SCHEME.

/17

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