RESTRICMED
GRS 650
REST CTED
FM HONG KONG 291030Z JAN 80
TO IMMEDIATE F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 171 OF 29 JANUARY
AKK 24315
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 ~~30 JAN 1980
INDEX
20: Taken
No 2.2 1. Aiv
سه
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, UKMIS GENEVA, WASHINGTON.
YOUR TELNO 64 (NOT TO ALL): VIETNAMESE BOAT REFUGEES.
قصد
1. WE NOW HAVE UNHCR RESETTLEMENT FIGURES FOR 1979. THESE SHOW
THAT OF THE 135,600 BOAT REFUGEES RESETTLED FROM ALL PLACES OF FIRST ASYLUM IN 1979, ONLY 24,700 (18.2 PERCENT) WERE FROM HONG KONG, COMPARED TO 68,600 (50.6 PERCENT) FROM MALAYSIA, 18,500 (13.6 PERCENT) FROM INDONESIA, 9,300 (6.9 PERCENT) FROM THAILAND, 4,400 (3.2 PERCENT) FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND 3,700 (2.7 PERCENT) FROM SINGAPORE. THESE FIGURES MUST BE SEEN AGAINST THE PAST AND CONTINUING BURDEN OF BOAT REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES OF FIRST ASYLUM (SEE TABLE 1 IN MIFT).
2. THE LOW PRIORITY GIVEN BY VIRTUALLY ALL RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES
TO REFUGEES IN HONG KONG IS SHOWN IS TABLE 2 OF MIFT. THIS IS
A CUMULATIVE TABLE, USING UNHCR FIGURES FROM LATE 1975 TO DECEMBER
1979. IT THEREFORE DOES NOT COVER THE INITIAL OUTFLOW OF BOAT
REFUGEES FOLLOWING THE FALL OF SAIGON (INCLUDING MANY WHO WENT QUICKLY TO THE US AND THE 3,700 BROUGHT TO HONG KONG ON THE ''CLARA MAERSK'' IN MAY 1975). UNFORTUNATELY WE DO NOT YET HAVE AVAILABLE THE FULL UNHCR MONTHLY RESETTLEMENT TABLES BY PLACES OF FIRST ASYLUM FOR 1979. HOWEVER ABOUT 76 PERCENT OF THE CUMULATIVE
UNHCR FIGURES COVER RESETTLEMENT IN 1979 SO THIS DOES NOT AFFECT
THE GENERAL VALIDITY OF THESE COMPARISONS.
3. THESE FIGURES TELL ONLY PART OF THE STORY. HONG KONG'S
CASE FOR FASTER AND FAIRER RESETTLEMENT QUOTAS IS ESSENTIALLY
BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE REFUGEES THEMSELVES. HOWEVER, IN
ADDITION TO THE POINTS MADE IN THE ASSISTANT POLITICAL ADVISER'S
LETTER OF 9 NOVEMBER 1979 TO STITT (SEAD) AND IN MY TELNOS 88 AND 111, PARAS 4 AND 5 BELOW HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE SPECIAL
FACTORS HERE.
RESTRICTED
14. THE