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Since early 1985 through the first week of Janaury 1986, we have received reports from Hong Kong that at least 1569 such arrivals in Hong Kong have voluntarily departed, almost all of whom said they were headed for the Philippines. Since June 1985, 86 of these refugees have landed in the Philippines, and after our initial assessment their previous resettlement in the PRC has been confirmed and the Government so informed.
In all of this, we realise that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines is faced with a very serious problem. not at all of its making, but inevitably requiring its attention.
Although this problem can be addressed only within the context of Philippine bilateral relations with the Governments of Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China, the Ministry can rest assured of the full support of the UNHCR and concerned members of the international community as it takes the policy decisions and actions which seem to be necessary. Timely action, taken now, could do much to address the problem before it escalates beyond its present dimensions.
As mentioned in our previous correspondence, the potential problem is far greater than the 86 persons now illegally in the Philippines: almost all of the 1569 refugees passing by Hong Kong are suspected of previous resettlement in China, and while still in Hong Kong most of them have explicitely expressed the desire to go on to Taiwan and/or the Philippines. In addition, reports from our Office in Beijing indicate that at least 800-1,000 more resettled refugees have gone missing from their residence on state farms in the PRC and, even more alarmingly, that many many more such persons are currently organising further such illegal departures. Letters from some of the 86 previously-resettled refugees currently IN the Philippines BACK to friends and relatives in the PRC have told them what to say to the Hong Kong authorities in order to obtain their cooperation and assistance in getting to the Philippines, and what their reception has been like after their arrival in the Philippines. They continue to ENCOURAGE their fellow resettled-refugees to come to the Philippines. Without some timely action involving a real DETERRENT, the Government of the Philippines can probably expect considerably larger numbers of such illegal entrants in the very near future.
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Of course, the MOST EFFECTIVE DETERRENT is that of the speedy return to the PRC of those refugees previously resettled there. However, based on the experience of the Hong Kong Government with the Government of the PRC, such returns to China can be arranged only after the PRC confirms that the refugee(s) in question has (have) indeed been resettled in China. process of confirmation often takes many months, sometimes even years. Until then, a STRONG INTERIM DETERRENT would be for the Government of the Philippines to adopt a policy similar to that of the Government of Hong Kong whereby all refugees suspected of previous resettlement in China are immediately placed in
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