TNAG-1529-FCO40-2093-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1986 — Page 191

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ercent of the total--their resettlement would substantially relieve the

refugee burden in Hong Kong. This action alone would be the best encourage-

ment for other resettlement countries to consider taking those who remain.

The Vietnamese boat refugees in Hong Kong have lived in limbo for too

long. It is time to end their suffering and give them an opportunity to begin

new lives with dignity. The United States is an indispensable part of the

solution--if there is to be one.

Notes

1.

China relinquished Hong Kong to the British in three stages: the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 ceded Hong Kong Island (32 sq. miles), which was added to in 1860 by the Kowloon Peninsula (3.75 sq. miles) under the First Convention of Peking. The New Territories--the largest part of Hong Kong (365 sq. miles) --were acquired in 1898 under a 99-year lease.

The

2. Factors that account for fewer boat refugees include the following: Orderly Departure Program; a more effective security system preventing departure from Vietnam; boat shortages in Vietnam; rumors of brutal pirate attacks in the South China Sea; and awareness of lessened hospitality by first asylum countries. See Joseph Cerquone, "Malaysia--Landing Point, Not Home, for Most Vietnamese Boat People," Refugee Reports, Vol. IV, No. 12, June 17, 1983, p. 3; Leo Dorsey, "Growth in Orderly Departure Program Brings Potential and Problems, Refugee Reports, Vol. V, Nos. 7 & 8, May 18, 1984, p. 2.

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3. Hong Kong does have an agreement with the PRC under which Chinese from the mainland are granted permanent settlement rights in Hong Kong. The number was 28,034 in 1984, and 27,260 in 1985. In fact, most of the colony's population can be described as refugees arriving at one time or another from mainland China.

This figure takes into account births and deaths among the refugee pop- ulation: 5,002 births and 506 deaths have been reported since January 1, 1979.

4.

5. UNHCR calls these active cases--cases for which no submissions have been made or which have been submitted and rejected by at least one resettlement country.

Under U.S. law, narcotics users are inadmissible to the United States even as refugees unless they are granted a waiver by the attorney general.

6.

7.

Refugee Action News. Derby, England, Winter 1985.

8.

Interview with Ken Woodhouse, Hong Kong government official, February 12, 1986; South China Morning Post, February 18, 1986.