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EVB1AO T
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AR Rawsthorne Esq
Immigration & Nationality Dept
Home Office
Lunar House
Wellesley Road
CROYDON
CR9 2BY
HKK 243/1
17 March 1986
- KK 243/1
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
17 MAR 1986
DESK OFFICEA INDEX
PA
PEGISTRY
Action Taken
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG: SCORRI REPORT
1.
You wrote
Tony
(Tony's
about this on 25 September to Galsworthy, who has left this department on appointment as .rivate Secretary to Sir Geoffrey Howe. successor, Christopher Hum, takes over on 24 March.) In your Letter you confirmed that you had no objection to Hong Kong's suggestion that the UK's intake of family reunion cases might be presented in terms of an average resettlement rate of about 40 refugees per month. Our two Departments have, of course, been in close touch since then on the mechanics of the resettlement process.
2=
A s
know, you
we have made great efforts since publication of the Government's Reply to SCORRI to urge other countries to accept more refugees
from the Hong Kong camps, and have
secured some useful results: we may eventually achieve up 1700 "new" places (excluding the 250 places Hong Kong have agreed to offer to ethnic Chinese). So far
far confirmed offers of
of new places, which are now being implemented, include 200 from Australia, 80 from the Netherlands, 70 from Finland and 50 from Canada. The Americans, who
of are
in course a key element
the will not commit
to themselves
a
resettlement
process,
figure for Hong Kong: but appear to be taking more from
than Last (despite
this
the
that
Hong Kong
year
fact their intake from the region will be lower this year). major factor in persuading other countries to increase their off take from Hong Kong has been the UK's
the UK's example. Several countries have asked about our performance since the announcement of our relaxed family reunion criteria, in view of our very Limited offtake from Hong Kong in 1984 and the first nine months of 1985. In particular, the rate of departures that we are able to achieve from Hong Kong is very carefully (and easily) monitored by resettlement (and potential) resettlement countries through their Consulates and Commissions in Hong Kong.
other
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