BKK Post / June 4, 1998 DISPLACED PEOPLE UNHCR help to be sought in tackling H'mong issue 13,000 in Saraburi not seen as refugees Bhanravee Tansubhapol The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be asked to help with displaced hilltribe people living at Tham Krabok, the foreign minister said yesterday. Surin Pitsuwan, who was in Vientiane for talks with Somsavat Lengsavad, his Lao counterpart, said the 13,000 H'mong at the wat in Saraburi were not refugees but the UNHCR had a mandate to help displaced persons. Mr Surin, who returns today, said Thailand would start tackling the issue after the Interior Ministry had completed work on the H'mong places of origin. A National Security Council source said the process had been completed. Phra Chamroon Parnchand, abbot of Tham Krabok, has said a large number of the H'mong were from the North. Mr Surin said he did not ask Mr Somsavat if Laos was willing to accept any of the Saraburi H'mong but had invited Lao officials to visit them at the wat, where they have been for about 20 years. Mr Surin also told Mr Somsavat it was policy to prevent violations of international law from Thai soil. Mr Surin also proposed Thailand and Laos try to solve security problems along the border as well as economic and social problems over the next five years, under a "new vision 2003", to coincide with the launch of the Asean Free Trade Area. Laos also agreed to allow access to Vientiane by Thai vehicles provided they were insured, and to recognise the Thai driving licence. The Interior Ministry is thinking of giving Lao vehicles access to Udon Thani. In addition, Laos and Thailand agreed to sign, possibly during the joint commission meeting in Thailand in September, four agreements, on transport, visa exemption for officials, extradition and finance ministry cooperation. They also agreed to conduct joint patrols on the Mekong River under the aegis of the joint border committee. Mr Somsavat pledged to help solve problems, mainly relating to regulations, of 12 Thai investors largely engaged in tourism and construction in Laos. The Laotian side agreed to let Thai officials visit Thai prisoners at any time on request. Thailand urged Laos to draw up master plans for cooperation in electricity, transport and communications, agriculture, telecommunications and investment. Thailand also proposed the upgrading to ministerial level of the committee for economic cooperation between Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and China. The Nation / 4 June 1998 Politics Laos set to allow Thai vehicles into Vientiane LAOS agreed Wednesday to allow Thai-registered vehicles to enter Vientiane instead of parking at the foot of the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said Wednesday. Kobsak said that the vehicles needed insurance that covered accidents in foreign countries. He did not, however, say when the new measure would become effective. The agreement was made Wednesday at a meeting between Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and his Lao counterpart Somsavat Lengsavad during the former's three-day official visit to Vientiane. The bridge over the Mekong is the first between Thailand and Laos and was opened in 1994, linking the Lao capital with Nongkhai province in Thailand. Laos has refused to allow Thai vehicles into the capital for fear of traffic congestion. Meanwhile Surin said in a telephone interview from Vientiane that Thailand had informed Laos that the Interior Ministry had agreed to a proposal to allow vehicles from Laos to enter Udon Thani province. He added that the Transportation Ministry of Thailand would endorse the proposal with immediate effect. At present vehicles from Laos can go only to Nong Khai province. Surin said that he had assured Laos that Thailand would take serious and immediate action against a group of ethnic Hmong living in Thailand whose presence has soured Thai-Lao relations as Laos has accused the group, living in Thamkrabok monastery in Saraburi province, of being rightists conducting activities against the Lao government. Kobsak added that Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai had asked Surin to convey the message to Laotian authorities that Thailand was serious in solving the Hmong problem in order to eliminate suspicion between both countries. "The Laotian side has also been informed that Thailand will ask the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to screen the Hmongs in Thamkrabok monastery," Surin said. Surin added that he had proposed a new framework for Thai-Lao relations called Interdependence Partnership towards 2003 and aimed at greater bilateral prosperity. Thailand and Laos plan to sign four bilateral agreements covering extradition, finance and cross-border transport when Laotian Prime Minister Sisawath Kaewbounphan visits Bangkok later this year, Surin said. He also submitted a letter of complaints from Thai businessmen who face difficulties in doing business in Laos. Vientiane also informed Thailand that it would allow Thai diplomats to visit Thais jailed in Laos. Study Shows Growth and Diversity Dramatic Among Asian Americans WASHINGTON, June 4 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Population Reference Bureau: Immigration has fueled the dramatic growth of the Asian American population -- not only in their total numbers but also in the increasing diversity of their national backgrounds. The number of Asian Americans nearly doubled between 1980 and 1990. The estimated 9.6 million Asian Americans, about 4 percent of the U.S. population, are expected to double again by 2010. This rapid expansion has been characterized by a similarly rapid growth in their ethnic diversity. In 1970, 96 percent of Asian Americans were Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino. But today, these three groups make up just over 50 percent of Asian Americans. Asian ethnic groups now include Koreans, Vietnamese, Asian Indians, Cambodians, Pakistanis, and Thais. "These are some of the findings from Asian Americans: Diverse and Growing," a new Population Bulletin written by Sharon M. Lee, a visiting professor at Portland State University. Geographic Concentration and Expansion Fifty-four percent of Asian Americans live in the western United States, reflecting the destination of the earliest Asian immigrants and the proximity of the western states to Asia. But Asians are less concentrated geographically now than ever before. In 1860, 100 percent of Asians lived in the U.S. West; by 1940, just less than 90 percent lived in the West. In 1990, 76 percent of Japanese Americans and 70 percent of Filipino Americans resided in western states. Stable Family Households Asian American children are more likely to be living with two parents than children in any other racial or ethnic group. In 1990, the percentage of children living with two parents was 83 percent for Asian Americans, followed by 80 percent for non-Hispanic whites. More recent data from the March 1997 Current Population Survey show that Asian American households are more likely than white households to consist of families (75 percent versus 68 percent). High Educational Achievement In 1997, 42 percent of Asian Americans ages 25 or older had a college or professional degree, compared with 26 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 13 percent of blacks, and 10 percent of Hispanics ages 25 and older. Immigration laws favor the entry of educated individuals because these laws give preference to immigrants with high-level job skills. This preference offers a partial explanation of Asian Americans' high education levels. About 43 percent of foreign-born Asians had at least an undergraduate college degree in 1997, while only about 24 percent of all Americans had such a degree. Nearly 40 percent of U.S.-born Asians (the children of these highly educated immigrants) had a bachelor's degree or higher in 1997. Recent immigrants are transforming the educational profile of the Asian American population. Almost two- thirds of Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian adults did not have a high school education in 1990. Chinese and Vietnamese also have a substantial percentage without a high school diploma. By contrast, only 13 percent of Japanese Americans did not complete high school. More Poverty Among Recent Immigrants Asian Americans' incomes tend to be higher than those of whites, blacks, and Hispanics, but there are considerable income differences among Asian American ethnic groups, reflecting differences in education and occupation. In 1996, median family income for Asians (including Pacific Islanders) was $43,000, $3,000 more than that of non- Hispanic whites, nearly $18,000 above the median for Hispanics, and nearly $20, 000 above the median family income of blacks. But racial and ethnic differences in per capita incomes were much smaller. Asian Americans' median per capita income ($18,000) was just below the median for whites ($19,000) and above the medians for blacks ($12,000) and Hispanics ($10,000). The most recent poverty rates for Asian Indian, Filipino, and Japanese Americans (for 1989) were the same or lower than the rate for non-Hispanic whites, while the rates for Vietnamese and Korean Americans were much higher. Nearly 24 percent of Vietnamese families were below poverty in 1989, as were 15 percent of Korean American families. Among all groups, recent immigrants are more likely than longer-term residents to have below- poverty incomes. About 20 percent of Chinese who immigrated between 1980 and 1990 were in poverty in 1989, compared with 6 percent of Chinese who arrived before 1980. Cambodian Airline Launches Direct Flight to Laos HANOI (June 4) XINHUA - The Royal Air Cambodge launched its first direct flight from Phnom Penh to the Lao capital of Vientiane on Tuesday. According to an official report reaching here Thursday from Vientiane, the Cambodian national carrier operates two direct flights a week between the two capitals. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, French-made ATR 72-seat aircraft of the Royal Air Cambodge is scheduled to leave Phnom Penh at 10:15 and arrive in Vientiane at 12:20, then return to Phnom Penh at 13:20 local time. Thai Foreign Minister Visits Laos HANOI (June 4) XINHUA - Thailand and Laos has agreed to enhance bilateral ties during the three-day visit to Laos by Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan from Tuesday to Thursday. According to Lao official news agency KPL, during the talks, Surin and his Lao counterpart Somsawat Lengsavad appreciated the improving ties and continued co-operation between the countries. The two foreign ministers shared the views to further intensify and strengthen the ties and co-operation. The talks covered issues on bilateral ties, economic co- operation, cross-border transport, security maintenance along the border, boundary demarcation, drug combating and support to approved projects. While meeting the thai visitor, Lao Prime Minister Sisavat Keobounphan hailed the visit and highly valued the growing ties of friendship and co-operation between Laos and Thailand.