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I am sending you copies of the speeches of nine Members of the Council who spoke in the adjournment debate on Vietnamese refugees last Wednesday. You may not have time to read every speech, but even from leafing through one or two of them I think you will understand the real sense of frustration in Hong Kong over the problem. The frustration exists because HMG will not give Hong Kong a free hand to devise its own solution yet at the same time refuses to lift a finger to help solve the problem. We are not suggesting that the UK should shoulder the entire problem: no single country could possibly accept such a burden. But we are asking the UK to take the initiative and set an example to other resettlement countries, many of whom are now using the UK's procrastination as an excuse for reducing their resettlement quotas or delaying making a commitment to taking refugees from Hong Kong this year.
We ask you to do what you can to urge HMG:
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to renew as a matter of urgency its commitment to resettling Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong; and
to initiate negotiations with the Vietnamese Government with a view to making arrangements to repatriate boat people arriving in Hong Kong who do not meet the United Nations definition of refugees.
We are confident that our requests have the support of the community of Hong Kong.
Yours sincerely,
Lydia DUNN
Senior Member
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