TNAG-0885-FCO40-1095-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 148

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74776 XFUND HA

0571 ASIANSK PM X/BD/171

3 MAY 1979

MR.

ROGER CANDLER

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

HONGKUNG

FOR PERSONAL ATTENTION OF ROGER CANDLER.

FOLLOWING IS FINAL VERSION OF HADDON-CRUE'S SPEECH AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ON 4TH MEY, EMBARGOED UNTIL 11 A M. PLEASE PASS COPIES TO FORD, SLIMMINGA DAVIES, WILSON AND MCLEAN.

DRAFT

MR. CHAIRMAN,

I JOIN OTHER GOVERNORS IN THANKING THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FOR BEING, YET AGAIN, 90 HOSPITABLE TO US SEMICOLON AND I ALSO JOIN THEM IN CONGRATULATING THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF THE BANK ON THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN 1978 WHICH ARE SO WELL DOCUMENTED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT BEFORE US.

2.

THIS BANK HAS 29 REGIONAL MEMBERS AND ITS WHOLE APPROACH TO ITS ROLE AS A REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT BANK SHOULD BE - AND, INDEED, HAS BEEN - BASED ON THE TWIN PRINCIPLES OF REGIONAL SELF-HELP AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION. 30 I MAKE NO APOLOGY, MR CHAIRMAN, FOR DRAWING THE ATTENTION OF THIS ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE BANK TO A REGIONAL PROBLEM WHICH HAS ASSUMED FRIGHTENING PROPORTIONS IN RECENT MONTHS.

. I REFER TO THE EXODUS OF PEOPLE FROM INDOCHINA. I SHALL NOT

EXAMINE THE CAUSES OR THE STATUS OF THIS EXODUS. I SHALL SIMPLY ARGUE THAT TO ASSIST IN THE SEARCH FOR PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS CREATED BY THIS EXODUS SHOULD BE A PRIORITY CONCERN OF THE BANK.

3. AT THE END OF MARCH 1979, OF PERHAPS HALF A MILLION PEOPLE OR MORE WHO HAVE LEFT INDOCHINA IN RECENT TIMES, OVER 230,000 HAD SOUGHT REFUGE IN VARIOUS REGIONAL MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THIS BANK AND ARE NOW IN CAMPS AWAITING RESETTLEMENT. SO, WHATEVER THE CAUSES AND STATUS OF THIS EXODUS, IT IS A FACT WHICH CANNOT BE IGNORED EVEN BY THOSE NOT IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED SEMICOLON AND IT IS A FACT WHICH THIS RANK CANNOT IGNORE AS IT PREPARES FOR WHAT MANAGEMENT HAS DESCRIBED AS (THE) NEW AND MORE COMPLEX CHALLENGES (OF ITS) TWELFTH YEAR.""

''

4. IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE REGION, A FIGURE OF 230,000 MAY NOT SEEM LARGE, BUT IT COULD GROW RAPIDLY OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AND THE NUMBERS WHO HAVE ARRIVED IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN THE REGION ARE BY NO MEANS INSIGNIFICANT IN BOTH ARSOLUTE AND RELATIVE TERMS. THIS IS CERTAINLY THE CASE SO FAR AS HONG KONG IS CONCERNED. OF THESE 230,000 PEOPLE, 83,000 LEFT INDOCHINA BY SEA OF WHOM OVER AND OVER 25% 25-670 CAME. TO HONG KONG. SO MAY. I SPELL OUT, MR CHAIRMAN, AS BRIEFLY AS POSSIBLE, THE DIMENSIONS OF THE EXODUS SEEN FROM THE STANDPOINT OF HONG KONG AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE OF OUR CONTINUING TO OBSERVE, AS WE HAVE SO FAR, ACCEPTED INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS.

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THESE