9.
"The service we provided was care and custody, keeping family groups together in a community setting with as little interference from the management as possible.
"Now that they are screened out, they have nothing to lose by resisting," said the Commissioner.
"The physical structure of the detention centres, the management regime, the level of staff provided, none of these are suitable for dealing with a population of discontented people who are prepared to undertake any action to resist the inevitable
repatriation.
"If that means escape, then so be it. If that means non co-operation, so be it. If that means violence, so be it. All of these tactics have been, and will probably continue to be used by the Vietnamese migrants to resist repatriation," said Mr Lai.
The Commissioner noted that scenes of violent resistance this year had not been witnessed in Hong Kong for decades.
"Nor is this one-off phenomenon. The occurrence of violent resistance to transfers and repatriation is now the norm. Now accusations fly as to who started it - an argument which I do not propose to get into.
"The truth of the matter is, however, that as long as the Vietnamese continue to believe there is even the remotest chance of resettlement, they will resist repatriation," he said.
Mr Lai said some pressure groups supporting the Vietnamese migrants had alleged that the Vietnamese no longer trust either the camp management nor the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while others have mislead them into believing they would be resettled.
"How many times have false hope been given to them? How many times have people, either inside or outside Hong Kong, hinted that things may change? How many times have these people been right? None.
"On not a single occasion has any rumour, proposed policy change, proposed law, any legal action, any judicial review ever changed the reality for the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese migrants," said Mr Lai.
"As long as some people, for whatever reason, continue to peddle the myth that the Fifth Cavalry will one day come and rescue the Vietnamese migrants and carry them off to California, the Vietnamese migrants will continue to cling to the false hope of resettlement, and that leads to escapes, non co-operation and violence," the Commissioner added.
End/Wednesday, September 20, 1995
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