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The overwhelming majority of the new arrivals are ethnic
Vietnamese; most come from North Vietnam
farmers and
fishermen seeking a better life. They are not refugees as
defined by the 1951 Convention and there is no realistic
prospect of their resettlement in third countries.
The rapidly deteriorating situation in Hong Kong
forced us to conclude that a new policy should not be
delayed. The British Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe,
visited Hong Kong in early June to see the problem for
himself.
The essential change in policy in Hong Kong relates to
the introduction of screening for all arrivals. Those who
meet refugee criteria will be accommodated in Hong Kong
pending resettlement. Those who are screened-out will be
treated as illegal immigrants and will be held in Hong Kong
pending their eventual return to Vietnam under suitable
guarantees. One of the purposes of the change in policy is
to deter those who have no hope of meeting refugee criteria
from leaving Vietnam to find a better life elsewhere. We
have made clear through broadcasts in the region that there is
no future for them in Hong Kong, those who arrive in Hong Kong
and are screened-out will be sent back in time to their
country of origin.
Mr Chairman, I wish to stress that there will be no
push-offs.
No Vietnamese boat carrying asylum-seekers has ever
been turned away by Hong Kong; this policy will continue.
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