CONFIDENTIAL
KEY ISSUES
6. (A) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION THAT ILLEGAL
ARRIVALS FROM VIETNAM ARE REFUGEES, AS A PLACE OF FIRST ASYLUM HONG KONG ACCEPTS ALL ARRIVALS BY BOAT FROM VIETNAM. BUT AS MOST RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES APPLY CRITERIA (USUALLY FAMILY CONNECTIONS WITH THE VIETNAMESE ALREADY SETTLED WITH THEM) TO DETERMINE
· THOSE THEY ARE PREPARED TO RESETTLE, HONG KONG HAS A GROWING NUMBER OF REFUGEES WHO ARE APPARENTLY UNRESETTLEABLE. 3,400 HAVE BEEN HERE FOUR YEARS AND 2,100 HAVE BEEN HERE FOR FIVE YEARS SEMICOLON
(B) VIRTUALLY ALL RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES HAVE LIMITS ON THE
NUMBERS THEY ARE PREPARED TO TAKE EACH YEAR SEMICOLON
(C) ONLY RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES TAKING APPRECIABLE NUMBERS OF
REFUGEES ON A MONTHLY BASIS HAVE BEEN USA, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA
SEMICOLON
(D) SINCE THE FALL OF SAIGON, HONG KONG HAS RESETTLED 14,000
FROM VIETNAM. ULTIMATELY HONG KONG MAY HAVE TO RESETTLE THE
REMAINING UNRESETTLEABLE CASES. GIVEN HONG KONG'S SIZE AND
PROBLEMS WITH IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA, IT IS DIFFICULT FOR HONG
KONG TO ACCEPT MORE FOR RESETTLEMENT NOW.
(E) ALTHOUGH BRITAIN HAS ACCEPTED 12,300 REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG, THE NUMBERS HAVE DECREASED DRAMATICALLY SINCE 1981 WITH
ONLY FIVE BEING RESETTLED SO FAR IN 1985. OTHER RESETTLEMENT
COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN USING THE NUMBERS RESETTLED IN BRITAIN IN
RECENT YEARS AS AN EXCUSE FOR NOT ACCEPTING MORE THEMSELVES.
YOUDE
LIMITED
HKD
FED
PS/MR RENTON SIR W. HARDING MR WILSON
CONFIDENTIAL