TNAG-1535-FCO40-2099-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1986 — Page 17

GRS 600

UNCLASSIFIED

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 3753

OF 12044OZ NOVEMBER 86

(46

DKK 943/8

17 NOV 1986

med

7/2

OUR FOURTH IPT: SPEECH BY HON. PETER C. WONG, OBE, JP

SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY TOUCHED ON THE SUBJECT OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES. TO EMPHASISE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE,

I WOULD WISH TO ADD A FEW REMARKS OF MY OWN.

YOU STATED IN YOUR ADDRESS, SIR, THAT DESPITE AN INCREASE IN THE

RATE OF RESTTELEMENT OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES DURING THE PAST YEAR

THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE IS LESS BRIGHT. THIS IS INDEED

DISTURBING NEWS. HONG KONG'S DIFFICULTIES ARE ENORMOUS. WE MUST

STEER A NARROW COURSE BETWEEN TREATING HUMANELY THE REFUGEES WHO

ARE ALREADY IN HONG KONG AND DETERRING NEW REFUGEES FROM COMING.

WE HAVE NEVER TURNED AWAY ANY VIETNAMESE REFUGEE, AND I DO NOT

BELIEVE THAT THE HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN OUR SOCIETY

WOULD EVER ALLOW US TO DO SO. YET THE BOAT PEOPLE WHO ARE

CATEGORISED BY INTERNATIONAL OPINION AS REFUGEES WHEN THEY ARRIVE

IN HONG KONG ARE INCREASINGLY REGARDED AS ECONOMIC MIGRANTS BY

PROPSECTIVE COUNTRIES OF RESTTLEMENT, AND FOR THIS REASON ARE NOT SO EASILY RESETTLED. THESE DIVERGENT VIEWS ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL, AND, TO PUT IT MILDLY, COMPOUNDING OUR PROBLEMS.

SIR, THERE IS NO LASTING SOLUTION WITHIN HONG KONG ITSELF. IT HAS NEVER BEEN INTENDED THAT HONG KONG SHOULD PROVIDE ANYTHING MORE

THAN A PLACE OF FIRST ASYLUM FOR THE VERY SIMPLE REASON THAT HONG

KONG IS ALREADY TOO DENSELY POPULATED TO ACCOMMODATE UNLIMITED

NUMBERS OF REFUGEES. A SHARP DROP IN THE RATE OF RESETTLEMENT

OF REFUGEES LED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CLOSED CAMP POLICY IN

1982 DESIGNED TO DETER NEW REFUGEES FROM COMING TO HONG KONG.

TO SOME EXTENT, THIS POLICY HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, BUT IT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO STOP COMPLETELY THE NUMBER OF NEW ARRIVALS, WHICH HAS

INCREASED CONSIDERABLY THIS YEAR.

WE ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLOSED

CAMP POLICY AND WOULD WELCOME CONSTRUCTIVE AND REALISTIC

SUGGESTIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR CLOSED CAMPS, BUT ANY ATTEMPT

TO ALTER THIS POLICY WOULD BE INTERPRETED BY WOULD-BE REFUGEES

AS IN INVITATION TO COME TO HONG KONG. SIR, THIS CANNOT BE AND

SHOULD NOT BE.

REALISTICALLY, THERE ARE PERHAPS ONLY TWO DURABLE SOLUTIONS TO THE

REFUGEE PROBLEM:

/RESETTLEMENT