PEOPLE

Stability
ling hundrcd~ of thousands of refuges from Vimam and Kampuchea
to 'destabilize, disrupt and =use turmoil and dtmsion in
MEAN states ... only a dclikrate policy can achieve an exodus on
so monumental a scale, This is not spontaneous combustion but
organized mon to sa slight the rest of South-East Asia! Vietnam
had 'picked on' the Chinese
beau* they know thst almost all ASMN COU~~UB
hvt delicate pmblemn
with their Chin- minorities. The mpuisivt unloadifig of Chinese refugee8
onto t k countries can only cxatcrhte racial scnsitiviticr and, if he Row
b susmined long enough, lad to racial warfare which could tear he# det-
its apart quicker and far more cffeccively than any invading Vimamese
army. In no time MN pmperiry, smbility and cohesion wodd wnbh into
thin air and conditions of life would rwon be on par with those now prevailing
in Indehina.
ASEAN srates, especially Malaysia, for resettlement places. ?he chief
secretary, Sir Jack Cater, said in July 1979 that, while Hong Kong
had received 35 per cent of the boat refugees during 1979, it had
received only 13 per cent of the resettlement places. Hong Kong had
taken strong measures against the seagoing freightera but h ~d always
given sanctuary to small boats, It did seem that it was now being
penalized for not having adopted a harsher policy.
This was the picture in late $979, when the Geneva conference gave
everyone a breathing space, It was not reassuring. The United States
seemed no closer to a wund policy. The Soviet Union, although cautious,
was locked into a relationship with Viemm that would continue
to antagonize China, and China was locked into a conflict with
Vietnam over Kampuchea thar would continue to antagonize the
Soviet Union. There were other neuralgic points, Conflict between
China and Vietnam over islands in the South China Sea, such as
Spratly and the Paracels, had been brought to the surface by the voy -
ages of the boat people. Thailand worried as Vietnam's influence
in Laos and Kampuchea increased. Most ominous of all were reports
of fresh horrors in Kampuchea - that after years of war and civil
strife, the economy had collapsed and the people, prevented from
fleeing into Thailand, were starving to death.
Also, here was Hong Kong. The British colony had long been
assimilating refugm from mainland China and was expected to
work miracles in absorbing boat people. But they were straining irs
reawms to breaking point and the territory's government came
under 1-1 fire for king too generous. Hong Kong officials were
also bitter about whar hey saw as discrimination in favour of the