CONFIDENTIAL
MRS CHALKER'S VISIT TO PARIS: 28 APRIL
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Essential Facts
General
1.
Almost 9,000 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting
resettlement; the largest number of any place of first asylum in South East Asia. They are spending increasingly long periods in Hong Kong because of diminishing
resettlement prospects: over 60% have been there more than
3 years.
Recent Action by HMG
2.
The Government announced in September:
(i) that HMG will accept for resettlement some 500 refugees, mostly from Hong Kong, who have
relatives in the UK but who would normally
fall
outside the Home Office's criteria for family.
reunion cases;
other resettlement
(ii) that,
that, depending on the willingness shown by
countries to respond to
Hong Kong's needs, HMG are prepared to
consider accepting further limited numbers
from Hong
Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government
would also be prepared to absorb limited
numbers from the camps.
(Hong Kong
agreed to absorb up to 250 more refugees.)
has
CONFIDENTIAL