CONFIDENTIAL
151736
MDHIAN 9963
SENSE (1955 UN CONVENTION AND 1967 PROTOCOL) AND THOSE WHO WERE SIMPLY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD, UNDER INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE, BE REPATRIATED TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. SO FAR SOME 7,000 VBP HAD ARRIVED IN HONG KONG SINCE 16 JUNE AND, ALTHOUGH SCREENING RESULTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE VAST MAJORITY WERE NOT REFUGEES.
6. TO ASSIST THE VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES IN STEMING THE OUTFLOW WE HANDED OVER A LIST OF DEPARTURE POINTS AND ROUTES TAKEN TO HONG KONG, AND OTHER BACKGROUND MATERIAL.
THE VIETNAMESE RESPONSE
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7 THE VIETNAMESE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE BOAT PEOPLE WERE A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND THAT A SOLUTION WAS URGENTLY REQUIRED. THEY SAID THAT THE OUTFLOW WAS CAUSED PRIMARILY BY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS WITHIN VIETNAM, BUT ADDED THAT THERE WERE OUTSIDERS WHO WERE ENCOURAGING AND ASSISTING PEOPLE TO LEAVE. THEY ASSURED THE HMG/HKG DELEGATION THAT THEY WOULD MAKE AN INCREASED EFFORT TO PREVENT DEPAR- TURES.
8. ON REPATRIATION THE VIETNAMESE SIDE SAID THAT THEY WOULD BE PREPARED TO ACCEPT ONLY VOLUNTARY RETURNEES. THEY HAD NO INTENTION
OF FORCING VIETNAMESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO RETURN. WE ARGUED THAT VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION ONLY WOULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND STRESSED THAT ANY PACKAGE TO BE AGREED BETWEEN US WOULD HAVE TO BE BASED ON THE RETURN OF THOSE POST 16 JUNE ARRIVALS WHO HAD BEEN FOUND TO BE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. WE MADE THE POINT THAT, UNDER INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE SUCH PERSONS SHOULD BE RETURNED TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IN THE SAME WAY AS WE RETURNED CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
POINTS OF AGREEMENT
9. BOTH SIDES AGREED:
(I) THE CAUSES OF ILLEGAL DEPARTURES FROM VIETNAM WERE COMPLEX AND DEEP ROOTED:
(II) VIETNAM WOULD TRY TO STEM THE OUTFLOW AND THAT HONG KONG WOULD
ASSIST WITH INFORMATION ON PLACES OF DEPARTURE AND ROUTES TAKEN:
(III) REPATRIATION WAS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF DETERRING ILLEGAL
DEPARTURES:
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