XN000022-1995-11-29 — Page 27

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Motion debate on the Vietnamese migrant problem

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the motion debate on the Vietnamese migrant problem in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President.

General

Let me begin by recapping briefly the progress we have made towards a resolution of the Vietnamese migrant problem since the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) was agreed.

Since 1989, 47,000 migrants have returned to Vietnam; over the same period, 27,000 refugees have left Hong Kong for overseas resettlement. Today, there are still 22,000 Vietnamese migrants and refugees in the territory. However, we have come a long way since that population peaked at 64,000 in late 1991.

The CPA, to which over 70 countries (incl. China) subscribe, has over the years served us well and remains the only internationally agreed framework for bringing to an end this long drawn-out saga. It provides that non-refugees must go home, and we have all along adhered to that principle. Almost 46,000 migrants have chosen to return voluntarily to Vietnam. We would prefer it if all of them chose this route. However, we also recognise that some migrants are not willing to volunteer and, in 1991, we introduced the Orderly Repatriation Programme. Up till now, we have returned 1,600 migrants under this Programme. In recent months, ORP operations But, have faced unprecedented violence and confrontations in the camps. notwithstanding these difficulties, we are determined to push ahead. Already this year, over 50% more migrants have been returned under the Orderly Repatriation Programme than in any previous year. The Vietnamese Government has also agreed that the pace of ORP should be stepped up; that is evidenced by the fact that in the last ORP exercise, we had two flights of returnees instead of one in the past. At another ORP operation starting tomorrow, we can continue on this course.