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Vietnamese Refugees (Hong Kong)
8 MAY 1986
I remember that, when boats crowded with people were floating about the seas in that part of the world, some countries took a much less charitable view than Hong Kong. It might be possible to criticise some of what has happened in Hong Kong, but it has undoubtedly been generous to the refugees as compared with some other countries in the region. It has gone to an enormous amount of trouble and expense to accommodate and resettle them.
Will the Minister please give us a commitment to continue resettlement in Britain of the modest number of refugees that I mentioned. Most of those who go to the camps, like refugees throughout the world, are the people with get up and go. We have found that with various refugee communities, a notable recent example being the Asians. They have entrepreneurial flair, a desire for education and a tremendous contribution to make to the countries in which they are resettled. That is one reason why countries such as Australia and Canada are only too happy to accept many more refugees than we have accepted.
I know from my meetings with people in the camps and from studies on them that they are able and willing people who will contribute to the communities in which they settle. I urge the Minister to give us that commitment and to tell other Governments that Britain has been prepared to extend her commitment. I am sure that the response from Canada, Australia, and the United States will enable us to close the camps. We should then resolve the problem and end some of the misery.
10.13 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Tim Eggar); I am sure that the whole House has listened with great care to the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Wrigglesworth). His comments are based on first-hand knowledge as a result of his recent visit to Hong Kong, and I know that he has taken a considerable interest in this topic for many years. I welcome the opportunity to put the Government's views on the record.
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The subject for debate which the hon. Gentleman has chosen concerns one of the sadder aspects of the conflicts that have troubled south-east Asia recently enormous exodus of refugees from Vietnam. I do not think that we have any reason to be ashamed of the part that we have played in efforts to solve the refugee problem with most of the burden falling on the authorities and people of Hong Kong.
As the hon. Gentleman said, the problem is still severe. Hong Kong still has more refugees than any other place of first asylum in the region. However, we are making steady progress towards a lasting solution. The total number of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong was over 50,000 in 1979. It dropped rapidly to under 13,000 by the end of 1981, largely as a result of Her Majesty's Government's initiative, and has since dropped gradually to 9,500 at the end of last year and just under 9,000 last month.
Since 1 January, 1,451 refugees have departed from Hong Kong for resettlement compared with 1,135 in 1985 and, one has to say that, some 525 have arrived against some 314 in 1985. The rise in departures is the result of increases in the numbers taken by the United Kingdom and other countries and I shall refer to those numbers in more detail later. As yet, there is no discernible reason for the increase in arrivals of some 40 per cent. or for the
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increasing proportion of northern Vietnamese in those arriving. Therefore, we have a problem of arrivals that we have yet to discover the reason for.
Hong Kong, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned, is the only place of first asylum to introduce a policy of local resettlement. It has now agreed to resettle up to another 250 ethnic Chinese refugees from the camps in Hong Kong. The refugees being resettled will be drawn from the longest stayers, that is those who have been in the camps for more than six years, and they will be among those who have proved hardest to resettle elsewhere. That is a significant contribution by the Hong Kong people and the Hong Kong Goverment.
Hong Kong is the only place of first asylum in the region to contribute towards the upkeep of its refugees. Last year 100 million Hong Kong dollars out of the 150 million Hong Kong dollars spent on refugees came directly from the Hong Kong Government. That is in stark contrast to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia which all insist that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees pays the total cost of the refugees.
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman knows that the Hong Kong Government have never turned any refugee away. All who wish to land are allowed to do so. Voluntary departures increased significantly last year but in order for those voluntary departures to take place we know that refugees made their decision to depart freely and without any form of coercion. We cannot, of course, compel refugees to remain in Hong Kong if they no longer wish to do so.
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I shall turn now to the United Kingdom's contribution. We have accepted some 12,500 refugees since 1975, all from Hong Kong. Last September-the hon. Gentleman was less than fair in his comments in this area — announced relaxed criteria for family reunion under which some 420 refugees would be taken from Hong Kong. So far, 250 have been resettled under that programme. That meets our target of 40 per month since arrivals began in November.
I think that the hon. Gentleman would agree that our present priority must be the reunification of Vietnamese families which have members in Hong Kong and in this country. At this stage we are not able to enter into commitments to take further refugees from Hong Kong. Whether we might be able to do so in the future will be decided in the light of the willingness shown by other resettlement countries to respond to Hong Kong's need and of all the other circumstances at the time.
The hon. Gentleman referred to a possible change in the monthly intake, which is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary rather than for me. The principal determinant of the rate of resettlement in the United Kingdom is the availability of accommodation for refugees. The voluntary agencies are making great efforts in this regard, but the difficulties involved in accommodating 40 refugees monthly would obviously be far greater if the number was increased. There are difficulties in that area, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman would agree.
In line with the recommendations of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, we are pressing other resettlement countries to take additional refugees from Hong Kong to maximise the effect of our decision to resettle further numbers of
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