18/12/87
LIKD
11.32 am
Vietnamese Refugees
Annex III
(i)
ни) 243
Mr. Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): The Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong have been described as the forgotten people. They have not been on our-television screen since the original news film about the boat people, but they are not forgotten by the House. It is right that we should be debating their plight in the Christmas Adjournment debate today. Hon. Members who have visited Hong Kong have seen the appalling conditions in which the refugees are living, and I shall not dwell on those today. Suffice it to say that living in confinement, in cramped conditions, with no privacy is not, and no one would represent it as being a long-term solution to the unhappy situation of the refugees.
The British Government's efforts to alleviate the problem have been strenuous. but we must sustain and redouble our efforts. We have accepted nearly 20,000 Indo-Chinese refugees since 1975, and about 13,000 refugees from Hong Kong. That is the third highest number of refugees from Hong Kong in any country. This year, the Government have decided to accept for settlement 468 further named individuals, who are close relatives of those already here, and they will be resettled at the rate of about 20 a month over two years. In addition, we are continuing to try to persuade other countries to follow suit. I hope that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will be able to tell the House something about our success in doing so. I know that talks have been held with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and that talks have been held in Vietnam about the settlement there of those who wish to return. I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to tell the House something about their progress.
The serious refugee position in Hong Kong has recently become worse. There are now 9,331 refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement and 3,119 refugees have arrived this year. This represents a 54 per cent. increase over the same period last year. By contrast, a total of 2,105 refugees have been resettled this year, which represents a 44 per cent. decrease in resettlement compared with the same period last year. The refugee population in Hong Kong has gone up from just over 8,000 at the beginning of the year to 9,387 now.
Since the introduction of Hong Kong closed centre policy, 47 boats have opted to continue their journey from Hong Kong after arrival, with provisions of rations and other essential items-three of them this year. About 11,000 of the 13,000 refugees reaching Hong Kong since the closed camps were introduced have elected to stay, preferring them to the alternatives of going on to Taiwan, the Phillipines, or perhaps to a totally unknown destination.
Although, on the scale of human suffering, the Vietnamese refugee problem in Hong Kong is not of the same horrific size as the tragedy of the millions of Afghan refugees, which the House debated last week, it is a serious and intractable problem for the Government and the people of Hong Kong and, needless to say, it is a matter of life and death to the Vietnamese people involved. The arrival of the refugees has compounded the difficulties posed by illegal immigration from China into Hong Kong. There have been about 630,000 legal and illegal
22/112
Mr. Forman
Mr Arkwright
445 Paul
/22/12
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.