Speech #870202600

The conditions on the Chinese mainland have deteriorated rapidly in recent monthsthe great step forward has proven to be a virtual leap backward. from poverty to famine. from confusion to chaos. Perhaps only the Chinese who live under communism could tell us how conditions have worsened. those who must grovel for food. who are moved at will by their rulers from the farm to the city and back to the farm. who have seen their ancient and strong family traditions destroyed. who have lived in sterile communes and gone wanting because the men in Peiping have deemed that a new China be built and that human suffering does not matter. Is it any wonder that since the end of the Second World War more than a million Chinese refugees have made their way. legally or illegally. into Hong Kong? The only wonder is that more have not followed suit. The British in Hong Kong have been generous. They have done their best to provide for the new residents. even as the population of the Crown Colony grew to a bulging 3.250.000. But. when several weeks ago the border guards outside Hong Kong stopped. in fact. guarding the bordereven the experts are divided on why they put down their gunsand the number of refugees rose to a thousand a day and then 2.000. the British had no alternative but to act: If the Communists would not keep their citizens at home. the British would have to. They began rounding up the escapees and sending them back. It is estimated that 50.000 were forced to return to China. But thousands more eluded the authorities and remained in Hong Kong. And while the Chinese border guards are now back to their posts. a small but steady trickle of refugees into Hong Kong continues. The problems posed by the steppedup influx of the past several weeks and by those Chinese who even now are getting through are vast and overwhelming and tragic and. for the British. simply unresolvable. They need our assistance. More important. the refugees need our assistance. There are tens of thousands of refugees from China in Hong Kong and we can help them. We did not turn our back on Hungarian refugees nor on Cuban refugees. Let us not now follow a new course. Let us offer the support. the funds. the leadership needed to relocate these refugees. to help them find new homes and new jobs. to help them live In the dignity and freedom that is every mans inalienable right. President Kennedy has proposed admitting to the United States up to 6.000 refugees under the emergency "parole" status granted to Hungarian and Cuban refugees. Under this program. priority would go to those Chinese in Hong Kong already cleared by U.S. officials. with special consideration for those who have special skills and have family ties in this country. It is my proposal. and I hope my colleagues in the House will agree that we admit to the United States not 6.000 but from 30.000 to 50.000. This action could be taken under emergency legislation and drawn from unused quotas. There are two prime requisites that I urge be adopted with my proposal. First. that we expedite the clearance of the thousands of refugees who have been in Hong Kong. in many cases for years. awaiting action on their visa applications to come to this country and that all of them have relatives in the United States. Second. that they have previously submitted an application for an interview for a visa at the American Consulate in Hong Kong. A3943