CONFIDENTIAL
resettled). We remain under considerable Parliamentary and
public pressure to close down the closed camps. If the current fall in their population were to be reversed this
would be seized upon as evidence of a a callous attitude on
the part of
part of HMG. A decline in
in the pace of resettlement
would increase the sense of frustration and thus the
possibility of further disturbances in the camps. The Hong
Kong Government's plans progressively to close
less satisfactory camps as the refugee population
would have to be reconsidered.
down 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.
In his
submission of 16 April 1985 with its
accompanying paper Mr Galsworthy considered а range of possible options aimed at resolving Hong Kong's refugee
problem. These options were:
(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,
to identify the former for eventual repatriation to Vietnam.
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