TNAG-1793-FCO40-2553-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 180

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MDHIAN 3304

CHANGE OUR PRACTICE OF AUTOMATICALLY ACCPETING AS REFUGEES ALL

BOAT PEOPLE WHO ARRIVE HERE FROM VIETNAM.

THIS WAS NOT A DECISION WHICH WAS TAKEN LIGHTLY, DESPITE THE GREAT PRESSURES UPON US SINCE BOAT PEOPLE FIRST STARTED COMING TO HONG KONG IN 1975, WE HAVE NEVER FORCED ANYONE AWAY. NOR WOULD WE CONTEMPLACE DOING SO NOW. PUSHING, OR TOWING, SMALL, LEAKY BOATS

FILLED WITH MEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN BACK OUT TO SEA WOULD NOT BE

ACCEPTABLE TO THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN OUR HUMANE AND CARING COMMUNITY. WE SHALL CONTINUE THEREFORE TO OBSERVE OUR INTERNATIONAL

AND HUMANITARIAN OBLIGATIONS.

AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS NEITHER FAIR NOR INDEED HUMANE TO CONTINUE A PRACTICE WHICH IS BASED ON A PROMISE OF RESETTLEMENT FOR ALL, WHEN THAT PROMISE IS NO LONGER VALID. THERE ARE ALREADY OVER 16,000 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG, MORE THAN 3,700 OF WHOM HAVE BEEN HERE IN OUR CAMP S FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE

BEEN ACCEPTED BY HONG KONG AS REFUGEES AND MUST CONTINUE TO BE

TREATED AS SUCH. DURABLE SOLUTIONS FOR THESE REFUGEES MUST BE FOUND, AND THAT MEANS PRIMARILY RESETTLEMENT IN THIRD COUNTRIES. BUT TO

CONTINUE TO ACCEPT ALL ARRIVALS AS REFUGEES WOULD PREJUDICE EVEN

FURTHER THE PROSPECTS FOR RESETTLEMENT OF THOSE ALREADY HERE AND INCREASE THE FRUSTRATION WHICH IS ALREADY WIDESPREAD AMONGST THEM

WE HAVE THEREFORE CONCLUDED THAT AS FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, ALL FUTURE ARRIVALS OF BOAT PEOPLE FROM VIETNAM WILL BE TREATED AS

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND DETAINED LIKE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, PENDING THEIR RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. HOWEVER WE SHALL SCREEN

ALL ARRIVALS TO DETERMINE WHETHER ANY OF THESE QUALIFY AS GENUINE

REFUGEES ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED CRITERIA.

THE SCREENING PROCEDURE, WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT STAFF ON THE BASIS OF INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS, THIS BASED ON GUIDELINES LAID DOWN BY THE UNHCR, WHO WILL BE ABLE TO MONITOR IT. AND THERE WILL BE A RIGHT OF APPEAL.

ANY SCREENED IN AS REFUGEES, WILL BE ACCOMMODATED IN CLOSED CAMPS WITH OTHER REFUGEES. ALL THOSE SCREENED OUT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

WILL BE DETAINED PENDING REPATRIATION TO VIETNAM. THEY WILL BE HELD IN THE HEI LING CHAU CENTRE WHICH WILL BE VACATED AND ADAPTED FOR THIS PURPOSE IN A FEW DAYS' TIME. THE DETENTION CENTRE WILL

BE MANNED BY THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

DEPARTMENT.

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