CONFIDENTIAL
GR 400
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG 230740Z OCT 82
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELEGRAM NUMBER 1239 OF 28 OCTOBER
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, CANBERRA,
UKMIS GENEVA
274
HKK
PA...
243/1
MIPT.
€73
''BRIEF FOR SIR JACK CATER FOR DISCUSSION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ON RESETTLEMENT OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG.
THE NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES RESETTLED TO AUSTRALIA FROM
HONG KONG SINCE 1975 IS AS FOLLOWS:
1 Af29/10
1975 - 78
218
1979
834
1980
904
1981
500
1982 TO DATE
297
UP TO 20/10
2,753
See(273
278
2. THE CURRENT AVERAGE RATE OF ''OFFTAKE'' IS ABOUT 304 A MONTH.
3. AUSTRALIA HAS ACCEPTED 54,126 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FROM FIRST ASYLUM COUNTRIES FROM 1975 TO AUGUST 1982, OF WHOM 54 PERCENT CAME FROM MALAYSIA AND ONLY 5 PERCENT FROM HONG KONG. THE AUSTRALIAN COMMISSION HERE HAVE ADVISED US THAT IT IS THEIR POLICY TO ALLOT LARGER QUOTAS TO ASEAN COUNTRIES: HONG KONG, NOT BEING A MEMBER OF ASEAN, IS TREATED LESS FAVOURABLY. AUSTRALIA HAS NO FIXED QUOTA OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FOR HONG KONG. ABOUT 30 REFUGEES DEPART FOR AUSTRALIA EACH MONTH. FOR COMPARISON, AUSTRALIA'S RATE OF OFFTAKE FROM MALAYSIA, WHICH HAS A SIMILAR NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES, IS ABOUT 400 PER MONTH.
4. ALTHOUGH THE RATE OF ARRIVAL OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG AFTER THE GENEVA CONFERENCE IN MID-1979 GREATLY REDUCED, IT HAS STABILISED SINCE 1980:-
6,788
IN
1980
8,470
IN
1981
7,488
IN
1982
(UP TO 20.10.82)
WITH THE REDUCTION OF QUOTAS AND THE TIGHTENING OF RESETTLEMENT CRITERIA BY THE USA AND OTHERS, THE REFUGEE POPULATION IN HONG KONG HAS, AFTER 3 YEARS' REDUCTION, BEEN INCREASING (UNDERLINED) SINCE MAY THIS YEAR AS FOLLOWS:
1979 JULY
65,716
1982 APRIL :
9,344
1982 OCT
(20.10.82)
12,702
CONFIDENTIAL
/5. HONG KONG