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GRS 965 UNCLASSIFIED
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG 0911212 DEC 78
TO IMMEDIATE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
TELNO,1428 OF 8 DECEMBER,
INFO IMMEDIATE: UKMIS GENEVA
PRIORITY: WASHINGTON, KUALA LUMPUR, HONG KONG GOVERNMENT
OFFICE LONDON,
INFO SAVING : HANOI, PEKING.
1.
MY TELNO.1437: INDO-CHINA REFUGEES :
DRAFT HONG KONG STATEMENT.
THE UNHCR'S NOTE (HCR/CSEA/2) SHOWS HONG KONG WITH THE THIRD HIGHEST TOTAL IN THE REGION OF BOAT REFUGEES ARRIVING SINCE AUGUST 1975 SEMI-COLON AND, AT PRESENT, WITH THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER AWAITING RESETTLEMENT. (IN BOTH CASES THE FIGURES FALL
CLARA
FAR SHORT OF THE APPALLING ONES FOR MALAYSIA). THESE FIGURES DO NOT, OF COURSE, INCLUDE 3743 WHO ARRIVED (MOST ON THE MAERSK IN MAY 1975) BEFORE THE UNHCR ASSUMED ACTIVE
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RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOAT REFUGEES IN HONG KONG.
2. IT IS SOMETIMES FORGOTTEN THAT HONG KONG HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLY AFFECTED BY THE PROBLEM OF OTHER REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS FROM INDO-CHINA, DURING 1975 HONG KONG ALLOWED 6969 RESIDENTS OF COUNTRIES IN INDO-CHINA TO REMAIN IN HONG FONG BECAUSE THEY
WERE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO RETURN (NOTE A). FURTHERMORE, SINCE DECEMBER 1976 THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAS ARRANGED 31 CHARTER FLIGHTS FROM HO CHI MINH CITY TO BRING PEOPLE NORMALLY RESIDENT IN VIETNAM TO JOIN RELATIVES IN HONG KONG AND A SMALL NUMBER HAVE COME ON AIR FRANCE FLIGHTS: TOTAL FIGURE 4790.
FINALLY,
220 BOAT REFUGEES HAVE EXCEPTIONALLY BEEN ALLOVED TO SETTLE IN
HONG KONG EITHER DIRECTLY OR AFTER BEING ORIGINALLY LANDED ELSEWHERE. THESE VARICUS GROUPS AMOUNT TO ABOUT 12,000 PEOPLE WHO DID NOT PREVIOUSLY HAVE PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN HONG KONG,
3. THE BOAT REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KỌNG MUST ALSO BE SEEN IN THE CONTEXT OF HONG KONG'S RATHER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE LATEST ESTIMATE 15 THAT (WITH AN AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 1848 KMS) HONG KONG HAS A POPULATION OF 4.7 MILLION. FURTHERMORE, ALTHOUGH EFFECTIVE PUBLIC EDUCATION HAS HELPED TO LOWER THE BIRTH-RATE,
CONFIDENTIAL
ANCING BONG