CODE 18-77
CONFIDENTIAL
HKB 040/2
HALOLIVED IN RE
STRY
2 1 NOV 1988
!
Mr Butt, Planning Policy Staff
LORDS DEBATE: 23 NOVEMBER
147
FROM: AR PAUL
Hong Kong Department DATE: 21 November 1988
1. Thank you for copying to us the draft of Lord Glenarthur's opening speech at the debate on 23 November.
2.
I have following comments on the section on Vietnamese boat
people:
p10 penultimate tiret third and fourth sentences
redraft as follows: "The consequence of Vietnam's failure has been a tragic exodus of its own citizens who have had to endure hazardous journeys by boat and protracted stays in camps in the region, including those in Hong Kong. And in the past year the flow has increased dramatically".
p10 last tiret
redraft as follows: "Hong Kong has a fine record as a place of temporary refuge for over 130,000 boat people, of whom some 13,000 have made their homes in Britian. But by June of this year it had become clear that the nature of the problem had changed: the majority of arrivals were not political refugees fleeing from persecution, but simply people in search of a better standard of living overseas. It was against this background that the Hong Kong Government has introduced a new policy of screening new arrivals to distinguish genuine refugees from the rest. Let me make it clear that no boat people will be turned away and all genuine refugees will continue to have access to resettlement overseas. Those who do not qualify as refugees will be kept in Hong Kong in humane conditions until satisfactory arrangements can be made for their return to their own country. Let me assure the House that we would send no one back unless we were satisfied that they would not be ill-treated or punished after their return".
13. This expands significantly on your draft but I think it would be advisable to put clearly on record the Governments position on this politically sensitive subject.
ARPave
A R Paul
CONFIDENTIAL
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