''Acquiescent non-volunteer'' is a new semantic vehicle by which Britain and Hong Kong hope to transport unwanted boat people in the Asian colony back to Vietnam and out of their consciences.
This bit of doublespeak grew out of an agreement last month in which Britain, Hong Kong and Vietnam urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to return Vietnamese classified as non-refugees who, though not volunteers, would not resist repatriation. About 50,000 Vietnamese are in Hong Kong camps; a large percentage are believed to be economic migrants, not political refugees.
Last December, 51 who did not want to go back-''non-voluntary acquiescers'' or, perhaps, ''unavailing voluntary demurrers''-were put on a plane for Hanoi anyway. This caused an international furor, sensitizing officials to the limits they dare not exceed.
But because the frustration and impatience with this problem persist, the impulse is to push against those limits toward the realm of weasel words.
The hard truth is that a great many boat people probably will have to be deported, a prospect that becomes less distasteful as Vietnam re-enters the community of nations as a member in good standing.
Not only do phony terms not soften that truth, but they insult the humanity of their users and the people to whom they are applied. ''Acquiescent non-volunteer'' deserves mandatory non-consent.