CONFIDENTIAL
3.
Το maximise the effect of our decision and Hong
Kong's, we are pressing other resettlement countries to
take additional refugees from Hong Kong. It is too early yet to know how many will respond with concrete offers of
resettlement places; SO far Australia (200 refugees),
Canada (50), Finland (70), the Netherlands (80) New Zealand
(19) and Sweden (100) have offered specific increases. The
US,
which resettles more Indo-Chinese refugees than any
other country, is currently accepting refugees at an annual
rate of some 1,800, 200 more than the previous year's
ceiling.
Several other countries (including Belgium,
Denmark, Luxembourg and Greece) are likely to respond
favourably.
FRENCH POSITION
one of the
4.
France has accepted some 1600 Vietnamese refugees from
Hong Kong since 1975, out of a
total intake of 98,700
Indo-Chinese refugees. France's record of resettlement from Hong Kong since 1984 of 155 refugees is
best in Europe, reflecting its historical links with Indo-China. The existence of long-established Indo-Chinese
communities
resettlement from Hong Kong.
5.
in
France
should
facilitate
further
After a series of exchanges ending in
Mrs Chalker's
meeting in Paris with M.
with M. Bariani on 28 April France agreed
to consider accepting 135 Francophone refugees, but indicated that only "dozens" of these might be resettled in France. The French have also indicated that they might
resettle refugees in Hong Kong who had undertaken a programme to provide refugees with a basic comprehension of the French language
language and socio-cultural orientation.
programme
sans organised by Ecoles (ESF), a French voluntary agency specialising in providing education for refugees; we understand that 50% of the programme's costs
and met by UNHCR,
that ESF is
would be
would be
seeking funding for the balance.
The
Frontières
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