XN000022-1996-03-04 — Page 7

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Question (Francis Moriarty, RTHK): Prime Minister, a subject not on your list of five. You say Hong Kong is not alone but when Mr Rifkind was here

Prime Minister: Can you get closer to a mouthpiece?

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Question (Francis Moriarty, RTHK): Sorry, perhaps I'll stand up, you can hear that microphone better.

You say Hong Kong is not alone but when Mr Rifkind was here he suggested that when it came to solving the Boat People question, it was a Hong Kong question. Now if I can just for a moment go back to your last press conference in Hong Kong in 1991, at which you said: "we are discussing regularly, we, I mean the British Government and the Hong Kong Government". You go on several times to talk about we and us. So the question is, where, when it comes to the Vietnamese Boat People does the British responsibility end and the Hong Kong responsibility begin?

Prime Minister: You're quite right, it's the real Francis Moriarty.

Let me tell you exactly what's happening. When I was in Bangkok last week I saw the Vietnamese Prime Minister to discuss the specific problem of the Vietnamese Boat People. If I can take a little bit of history to that, it was very soon after my visit in 1991, that activity on the Boat People began to accelerate. There was clearly a need for decisions to be taken, I agreed with that, the Governor agreed with that. Progress began to be made. Progress was preceding very satisfactorily with volunteers, non- refugees returning back to Vietnam until there was, what I think I might delphically call an external intercession from across the water, and I do not mean by that the United Kingdom.

I spoke to the Vietnamese Prime Minister to see how we can accelerate this process. The objective would be to deal with the problem entirely before the end of June 1997. That is the objective. Satisfying that objective is not wholly in British hands but that is the objective that I seek. With that in mind I agreed with the Vietnamese Prime Minister that I would send British officials immediately from London to Vietnam to discuss how we might re-accelerate this programme. The reason I am sending officials first is that I shall be sending a Minister, a Foreign Office Minister, to Vietnam in April and I want the preliminary ground-clearing work done in advance of that so that we may deal compassionately, sensitively, but speedily and comprehensively with the problem of the non-refugees who are still here in Hong Kong in camps.