TNAG-1540-FCO40-2104-Further-resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-i-1986 — Page 50

GRS 600

UNCLASSIFIED

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 3753

OF 12044OZ NOVEMBER 86

DKK 943/11

RECEIV

12 NOV 1986

RY

Laken

4/12

Ɑ

TOP COPY

? DIST 7

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 PASTYEAR 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

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