8.
(contd)
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Hong Kong as their destination.
New boats are now
being custom-made to carry refugees: he said that in a group of 5 boats which recently reached Malaysia, 3 had been equipped with extra ventilation pipes, larger water tanks and portholes. He concluded his estimate of future trends with a question: "What will Hong Kong do with half a million refugees?"
9.
While the ASEAN delegations expressed sympathy, in corridor discussions, with Hong Kong's burden this was generally accompanied by claims that ethnic Chinese refugees did/impose the same social and political problems on Hong Kong as they did elsewhere. There was little sympathy with the burden of immigration from China: ASEAN delegate told a Western colleague, "if Hong Kong can absorb 100,000 from China in a year surely they can take as many refugees"
Resettlement from Hong Kong
10.
one
Corridor discussions on resettlement prospects proved equally gloomy. The US delegation said they did not know what the allocation of numbers to Hong Kong would be in future months but hinted at the answer by referring to increased Congressional pressure to take more land cases from Thailand. The Australians held out no prospect of shifting their emphasis from Malaysia (in order to protect Darwin from direct arrivals). However, statistics on arrivals in Hong Kong which I gave other delegations had a considerable impact and I told Cuenod, who led the UNHCR delegation, that it was essential that UNHCR should cease circulating such inadequate statistics. He agreed to take action when he returned to Geneva.
Discussions with UNHCR
11.
I had a long discussion with Cuenod on the failure of UNHCR to accept all refugees in Hong Kong. He said he believed Hartling's real worry was the resettlement prospects of refugees from the north and asked if there was any prospect of them being settled, perhaps with UNHCR assistance, in Hong Kong. I said that the US made no distinction between refugees from the North and those from the South and there was no justification for northerners being treated differently in Hong Kong.. What was essential was for UNHCR to get them all registered (for which extra staff were needed) and to present their cases to potential resettlement
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