obtained which might not otherwise have been available.
In
addition, in response to another of SCORRI's
recommendations,
the Hong Kong Government has itself
decided to absorb up to 250 refugees from the Hong Kong
camps, and this process of absorption has already begun.
3.
a result of this combined effort Hong Kong's camp
population has reduced from 10435 a year ago to 8515 as
at 1 September: indeed the reduction would have been
substantial increase in the number of
greater but for a
リ
arrivals in Hong Kong during the past summer. However Boy
the end of this year most of the resettlement places made
available as a result of our "SCORRI" campaign will have
been used up. Only the programmes of the three main
resettlement countries (US, Australia and Canada) will
offer the prospect of significant resettlement, and even
this prospect is in some doubt. The Australians have
for Hong
already indicated that
that their current programme
Kong will not be increased unless HMG make a further
i
gesture. The Americans, whose next annual programme will
begin on 1 October, are on past form sure to take the
same line.
The programmes of other countries, which have
all been "one-off" responses to our own SCORRI decision,
will lapse in the absence of a further gesture on our
part.
4.
In this context I am most concerned that we now
seem to be nearing the end of the UK's current offtake of
family reunion cases from Hong Kong.
"SCORRI"
I
CONFIDENTIAL