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(b)
PARAS
INVOLUNTARY REPATRIATION (PARAS 16-18 OF POLICY PAPER)
EXCO agreed in January 1985 that the Hong Kong Government should
pursue the possibility of repatriating to Vietnam all new arrivals
who were found not to be refugees, provided they would not be
treated inhumanely after return. They advised that as a first step
HMG's agreement should be sought to HMA Hanoi raising the matter
with the Vietnamese authorities. HKD recommended to Ministers in
April that HMA Hanoi should be so instructed. However the Secretary
of State has concluded that this course of action should not be
pursued.
His view is that parliamentary and public opinion in this
country would not accept that we should discuss forcible
repatriation with the Vietnamese given our condemnation of
Vietnamese policies, not least in Cambodia.
informed of this decision.
Hong Kong have been
3. CLOSED CAMPS (PARAS 5-9 OF POLICY PAPER)
SCORRI have recommended that the closed camps be abolished and their inmates transferred to open camps. For the reasons explained in the policy paper, we believe implementation of this recommendation would have serious consequences and should not be pursued. Ministers are
inclined to accept this view, though a final decision on the reply
to SCORRI has yet to be taken.
4.
RESPONSE TO SCORRI
HMG's response to Parliament will probably take the form of a Home Office White Paper, to which we shall contribute sections on matters
of FCO responsibility.
5.
VISIT BY HARTLING TO UK
Mr Poul Hartling, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, visited Hong Kong in May. At his own suggestion, he will visit the UK on 5 June for meetings with Mr Luce and Mr Waddington about Hong Kong's
problems. His aim will be to explore the prospect of the UK accepting more Vietnamese refugees, and to offer UNHCR help in persuading other resettlement countries to increase their off take from Hong Kong as a follow-up to a UK example.
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