小
resettlement.
iii)
A UNHCR official told a visiting Hong Kong official in May 1984 that in the absence of a "political" gesture by the UK, no one
else would make such a gesture for a British colony, whereas they would (for political reasons) for ASEAN countries.
2.
We have countered these criticisms by pointing out that the UK has by no means neglected its responsibilities in this respect: it has already accepted over 18,500 Vietnamese refugees, mostly from
Hong Kong. When added to the 14,000 who have been resettled
in Hong
Kong itself, this represents a substantial contribution towards the
international resettlement effort.
3.
There is по guarantee that resettlement countries would
commit themselves to take larger numbers of Vietnamese refugees from
Hong Kong in the event that an additional significant number were
statements reported above suggest that the
admitted to Britain. The
effect of the UK accepting
a further quota might indeed be to
encourage other countries to increase their off-take from Hong Kong.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
23 OCTOBER 1984