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APPENDICES TO THE MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE
in Manila. New US guidelines have since replaced the determination of refugee status on individual basis with a "presumptive refugee status" for specific groups. For Vietnam, these groups are:
(i) Previous ARVN Personnel
(ii) Previous employees of South Vietnam Government
(iii) Ethnic Chinese
(iv) Religious groups
(v) Montagnard groups previously linked to US forces
(vi) Western educated persons
(vii) Previous inmates of re-education camps
(viii) Those sent to labour camps and NEZs for political reasons.
Resettlement in Canada
There are three types of sponsorship in the Canadian Programme.
DCI Government sponsorship the total quota allotted to Hong Kong in 1985 is 600.
DC2 Personal sponsorship-persons with close family ties in Canada.
DC3 Group sponsorship-persons connected with a religious or social group in Canada.
Unlike USA and Australia, the Canadian Government does not determine the refugee status of applicants for admission into Canada.
ResettlemENT IN AUSTRALIA
Admission Criteria
The Australian Government also has a set of admission criteria:-
Priority 1: Family Reunification (including grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts,
nieces, nephew and first cousins).
Priority 2: Close ties with Australia.
Priority 3: Persons with resettlement potentials, e.g. ability in English language, special
skills.
Like the Americans, the Australians only select persons who satisfy the definition of a refugee.
APPENDIX 4
Copy of Telex from the United States Government
The United States continues to take the largest number of refugees from Hong Kong. We estimate that the USG will accept approximately one thousand refugees from Hong Kong during the period 1 October 1984 through 30 September 1985. This number is commensurate with our offtake during recent years.
The USG strongly encourages HMG to improve their acceptance of refugees from camps in Hong Kong. We are gratified that the House of Commons is attentive to this important humanitarian issue. The United States has urged HMG for the past several years to increase the number of refugees from Hong Kong accepted for resettlement in the UK. The low levels of resettlement of refugees in the UK in recent years increases the difficulties of justifing additional resettlement in the United States and elsewhere. A stronger effort on the part of HMG to resettle Indochinese refugees out of Hong Kong would be viewed positively by the United States. Absent an effort to substantially increase the UK offtake from Hong Kong, the USG is unlikely to review its current policies and practice regarding acceptance of these refugees above the levels currently projected for the current fiscal year.
SHULTZ