布政司署
香港下亞區畢道
** OUR REF:
SRD 403/4/1/C
* Your Ref :
Mr A.
Dubs MP House of Commons
RECEIVE
нкс 24315.
....Y
02 JAN 1986
DESK OFFICE).
INDEX
TRY
Taken
3x8
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
24 December 1985
Copied to No Wyeth,
OVA. RA
Св
2
During your visit to Bowring Closed Centre on 5 December 1985, you asked me to let you have further information on:-
(a)
(b)
a Vietnamese lady who claimed to have relatives in UK:
HMG's financial contribution towards the upkeep of refugees in Hong Kong; and
(c) a regional record of resettlement.
.
The lady whom you met claimed that she had a father and two brothers in the United Kingdom and had been waiting to be resettled for many years. We have identified her as Madam LE THI PHIEN who has a husband, Mr NGUYEN DUC CUONG, and six children staying with her in Bowring. The UNHCR records show that Madam LE and her family of seven came to Hong Kong from North Vietnam on 20 July 1982, shortly after the introduction of the closed centre policy. Although the UNHCR submitted this family to the Australian government earlier this year, the application was turned down. The case was passed to the UNHCR office in London on 7 August 1985 for consideration by HMG. The UNHCR has advised that Madam LE's father and two brothers live in Leeds and, therefore, she qualifies under the United Kingdom family reunion criteria. Accordingly, Madam LE and her family are included in these refugees with family links in the United Kingdom whom HMG has agreed to accept for resettlement. The United Kingdom family reunion cases are being processed in chronological order, according to their date of arrival in Hong Kong. At present, the long stayers from the open centres are being resettled and it will be some time before those in closed centres will be considered. We anticipate that Madam LE's family will be due for consideration towards the end of 1986 as they are comparatively recent arrivals.
As regards HMG's contribution towards the upkeep of refugees in Hong Kong I can confirm that no direct contribution has been made. However, HMG makes an annual grant of £260,000 towards the implementation of the Vietnamese Refugee Programme in the United Kingdom. In addition, HMG has decided to enhance the Programme with a further contribution of 130,000 for 1986-87. HMG also contributes towards the UNHCR's annual budget and this, indirectly, is used for the upkeep of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong.