b)
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for the Medium Term Support Programme for the next financial year. Although the Home Office supports the future of the programme, the Treasury are questionning the need for, and theory of Medium Term Support.
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There were meetings planned when the three voluntary agencies (BRC, Ockenden Venture and Refugee Action) would have to put forward a strong argument for medium term support to the Treasury.
David Ennals gave his support to this and asked that he should be informed when a stage was reached at which a Parliamentary group could exert some pressure on the Treasury. He would then help in whatever way he could.
Stan Spence (Home Office) reported that a new procedure for family reunions had just been introduced. Instead of the British Embassy in Hanoi issuing the letter of visa approval, this would now be done in Croydon. Refugees in this country would therefore have to give photographs etc. of their relatives to the Home Office. It was hoped this would overcome the difficulty currently experienced because there is no postal service between the Embassy in Hanoi and residents in Vietnam.
Situation in Hong Kong
Helen Yu of the Hong Kong Government Office reported on the current situation in Hong Kong.
As of 9th March 1982, 11,000 refugees were still in Hong Kong, excluding 1,000 under detention as ex-China cases. The outlook for resettlement is very grim. The UK quota has been filled and there are only four countries still receiving refugees from Hong Kong for resettlement. These are :
Canada : 1,000 from Hong Kong and Macao for the whole of 1982 Australia: 25 a month
France: about 20 a month
USA: an average of 1,000 a month, but will be increasing their
restrictive policy
The USA has expressed the intention to tighten its policy of only granting entry to certain categories of Vietnamese. Soon, they will admit only those refugees who already have close family ties with the USA or other very close ties. Applicants will also be screened by the INS to determine whether they are genuine refugees. This will greatly cut down numbers of resettlements from Hong Kong.
It was estimated that by July there would still be 12,000 refugees awaiting resettlement in Hong Kong. Over 40% of the refugees in Hong Kong have been there for over two years, which is the cause of much frustration in the camps, and there is increasing resentment in Hong Kong about the static refugee population.
The FCO is trying to:
a) press UNHCR for greater assistance to get other countries to take
some of the load off Hong Kong.
b) press the USA to lift their restrictions on the refugees that they
will admit and their
The wish is
to bring the programme to an 'orderly close'.
There followed a discussion of the way in which the UK should respond to these difficulties faced by Hong Kong. It was recognized that any recommendations for action, such as to admit another quota, must be part of an overall policy towards a solution to the problem of Indochinese refugeea in South East Asia.
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