Japan to Repatriate 301 Chinese ‘Boat People’

The Japanese government has announced it will begin repatriating Chinese “boat people” and said the first 301 will be sent back today.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Taizo Watanabe said the 301 are among 1,668 Chinese who illegally entered Japan this year by posing as Vietnamese “boat people.” Most came seeking employment in prosperous Japan and cannot be considered genuine political refugees, Japanese officials said.

The 301 Chinese will leave Nagasaki port under armed guard today on a passenger ship chartered by China, Tsunozaki said. The ship will sail to Fuzhou, near where most of them come from. The group consists of 270 males and 31 females, including 13 boys and girls younger than 15, he said.

The repatriation comes as Britain has encountered criticism at home and in Washington for sending back Vietnamese refugees who made their way to Hong Kong, a British colony. Watanabe said Japan “understands” the British decision, but it does not plan to repatriate any Vietnamese refugees from Japan.

“This deportation of Chinese illegal entrants is something different from the Vietnamese ‘boat people’ repatriation to Vietnam,” said Toshio Tsunozaki, director of the human rights and refugee bureau in Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

The repatriation is considered politically sensitive because of China’s recent crackdown on dissent and uncertainty about how the returnees will be treated.