CONFIDENTIAL
In 1979 the refugee factor in South East Asia was important to them. And although it is not so important now, some countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia still carry weight with US officials; Hong Kong does not appear to
do so.
4.
Turning to Hong Kong's specific problems, he said that UNHCR continue to mention their needs to all potential receiving countries. They had already had some successes and though the numbers taken so far were small, these acceptances were hopeful signs for the future. During his recent trip to Ottawa the Canadians had said that they would be sending a team to Hong Kong to look at cases of those who had been there a long time. UNHCR papers on resettlement always included a paragraph on Hong Kong. Saying that he knew he was repeating recent approaches, he said that if the UK could take some 1,000 cases from Hong Kong, the main resettlement countries would match this and more. This would relieve Hong Kong of more than half her present residual case load.
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5. Repatriation to Vietnam was not on the cards until all the countries concerned had a change of heart and policy. The climate was not right now for such changes but there had been some hopeful signs recently. A few individuals had been repatriated but these were on humanitarian grounds and, presumably, good for Vietnam's image. To turn this meagre trickle into a flow, Vietnam would almost certainly impose conditions on the West.
6. A possible way to discourage further (illegal) departures would be for first asylum countries to instigate a
screening process to determine whether each new arrival was a mandatory refugee or an economic migrant. In principle, the former could stay and the latter could be sent back, but there were serious practical difficulties in imposing and carrying out such an arrangement.
Adam
а
. B D Adams
12 August 1983
CC:
Mr CJM Segar, SEAD/FCO Mr. DJ Peate, UND/FCO
Mr P J Williamson, Hong Kong
CONDID CAST AT