Mr. President. a longneglected problem has now reached a critical stage. I refer to the refugee problem in Hong Kong. which is the most serious and pressing refugee problem in the world today. Since the fall of mainland China to the Communists. Hong Kong has provided sanctuary to more than a million refugees from that Communist regime. But this British crown colony is only 391 square miles. and it is bulging at the seams. At the end of World War II. the Hong Kong population was 600.000. Now it is nearly 3.5 million. Refugees from Communist China have been pouring into Hong Kong at the rate of more than 10.000 a month. until finally Hong Kong authorities have had to call a halt. They are now compelled to force these refugees to return to the Communist mainland from which these unfortunate people had fled at risk of life and limb. The time is long past due for the nations of the free world to lend a helping hand to these refugees. for to our shame we have been most derelict in the past. As Life magazine pointed out in an editorial on May 4: This is not a British problem. It is a world problem. and Hong Kong Colonial Secretary Claude Burgess is perfectly right when he points out that the rest of the world gives him little help. The United States has taken only 5.300 Chinese refugees since 1953 (under a special refugee quota separate from our annual quota of 105 Chinese from anywhere). Crowded Taiwan has taken only 14.000 from Hong Kong. although it has also taken nearly 60.000 coming from elsewhere. Underpopulated Australia has taken none.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees