CONFIDENTIAL
resettled).
current
fall
We remain under considerable Parliamentary and public pressure to close down the closed camps. If the fall in their population were to be reversed this would be seized upon as evidence of a callous attitude on the part of HMG. A decline in the pace of resettlement
would increase the
of sense
frustration and thus the
possibility of further disturbances in the camps. The Hong
Government's plans Kong
close down plans progressively to less satisfactory camps as the refugee population
would have to be reconsidered.
the
fell
13.
Finally one implication of a lower level of departures would be that the remaining resettlement programmes would tend to concentrate more exclusively on those refugees who were easiest to resettle. This would make more obvious and more acute the plight of the "hard to resettle" refugees in the open camps (estimated by Hong Kong in January at about
1,500).
Options for future action
C
14.
of
18
April considered
1985
with
its
a
range
of
In his submission
accompanying paper Mr Galsworthy
possible options aimed at resolving Hong Kong's refugee
These options were:
problem.
(a) to reduce the rate of arrivals by
(i) towing newly-arriving boats out to sea;
(ii) involuntary repatriation to Vietnam;
(iii) screening of new arrivals to segregate "economic migrants" from genuine refugees,
the former for eventual
to
identify
repatriation to Vietnam.
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