§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what latest discussions he has had with the Government of Vietnam and the Governor of Hong Kong about the plight of the boat people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladMost recently, I discussed the problem of Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong and repatriation of non-refugees with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Nguyen Manh Cam, during his visit to London on 4 to 5 June. I also discussed this issue with the governor of Hong Kong during my visit to the territory from 25 to 29 May.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese boat people remain in camps in Hong Kong; and what timescale is envisaged for their resettlement.
§ Mr. GoodladA total of 54,686 Vietnamese migrants were in the camps in Hong Kong on 4 June 1992. Those determined to be refugees will be resettled in third countries. Those who are not have no option but to return to Vietnam. At current rates of arrivals in Hong Kong and returns to Vietnam, it will take over three years to clear the camps.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the Vietnamese boat people have been resettled from Hong Kong(a) in individual countries and (b) in total.
§ Mr. GoodladBetween 1979 and April 1992, a total of 129,607 Vietnamese boat people who were considered to be refugees were resettled from Hong Kong in the following countries:
178W
Number Argentina 75 Australia 9,289 Austria 437 Belgium 196 Bermuda 7 Canada 24,872 China 37 Denmark 1,408 Finland 485 France 1,745 Germany 2,429 Greece 50 Hong Kong 554 Iceland 60 Ireland 110 Israel 38 Italy 112 Ivory Coast 1 Japan 554 Luxembourg 32 Netherlands 1,042 New Caledonia 80 New Zealand 877
Number Norway (direct) 486 Norway (via RPC1) 547 Spain 251 Sweden 1,277 Switzerland 679 United Kingdom 14,296 USA (direct) 48,623 USA (via RPC1) 15,754 Vanuatu 12 Others 50 In refugee transit centre at Bataan awaiting resettlement 3,142 1 RPC=the refugee processing centre at Bataan.