WORLD : Hong Kong Wants Refugees Out

Hong Kong Gov. Sir David Wilson, rejecting U.S.-led opposition, said today that compulsory repatriation of Vietnamese boat people should start before thousands more flood into the British colony.

Wilson, ending a three-day visit to London, called objections to sending the boat people home illogical and said the final decision is up to Britain and Hong Kong.

A U.N. conference in Geneva last month agreed the boat people would eventually have to return home, but the United States has led strong resistance to forced repatriation.

Hong Kong says most of the 56,000 Vietnamese boat people packed into camps there are economic migrants, not genuine political refugees fleeing persecution.