(4 Dec 1997) Mandarin/Eng/Nat
The fate of about 12-hundred Vietnamese boat people still in Hong Kong remains in limbo, after British and Chinese diplomats failed to agree on a course of action.
Beijing holds Britain responsible for removing the Vietnamese from Hong Kong.
So said Chinese diplomat Wang Guisheng after two days of talks with the British this week.
In Wednesday's meeting of the Joint Liaison Group - set up to handle details of the transfer of sovereignty - the two sides also discussed plans for elections in Hong Kong.
During a media briefing, China and Britain expressed concern about handling the Vietnamese refugee problem.
The Vietnamese are migrants and asylum-seekers who fled Vietnam after the 1975 communist takeover and sought refuge in what was then a British colony.
Thousands of these boat people have been resettled in the West.
Many more were rejected as refugees.
Most of these were returned home voluntarily, but more than 11-thousand have been deported by force since 1991.
Britain said in October that it wouldn't take any more Vietnamese asylum seekers.
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Britain had already admitted more than the 15-thousand it had promised to accept.
Beijing holds Britain responsible for getting the Vietnamese out of the territory.
SOUNDBITE : (Mandarin)
"So the Chinese side stressed that as long as the question of Vietnamese refugee boat people remains, the responsibility of the British also remains."
SUPER CAPTION: Ambassador Wang Guisheng, Chinese Chief Representative
Alan Paul, the chief British representative at the talks, denied that Britain bore any legal responsibility, but said London would do whatever it could to help.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"Although Britain is no longer the sovereign power and thus has no residual responsibility, we continue to stand ready to help."
SUPER CAPTION: Alan Paul, British representative
Britain is considering applications for refugee status and is giving Vietnam development aid intended to alleviate the poverty that drove many boat people abroad.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"First, we are currently actively considering refugee cases for resettlement in the U.K. under our family reunion criteria. Second, we will continue to offer diplomatic assistance in support of efforts by the SAR government and the Chinese government. Three, the
U.K. has a substantial aid program to Vietnam focused on the alleviation of poverty. This should, over time, help to reduce the outflow of migrants from Vietnam."
SUPER CAPTION: Alan Paul, British Representative
China had demanded that Britain resolve their fate before quitting Hong Kong on July 1.
A total of 198-thousand, 608 Vietnamese boat people have passed through Hong Kong over the past two decades, despite Chinese protests at the British colonial government's decision to give them temporary refugee status.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"The root of the question is the policy of first port asylum as decided by the British at the time. As long as this question is not solved, the British side should bear responsibility for the complete resolution of any remaining question."
SUPER CAPTION: Ambassador Wang Guisheng, Chinese Chief Representative
Paul and Wang said that during six hours of talks they also discussed plans for elections in Hong Kong.
China has promised to create a Hong Kong legislature elected by the general public by 2007.
Beijing dismantled an existing elected legislature at the handover, saying its creation violated the Chinese-British agreement on the transfer of power.
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