Special
Immigration (SCORRI)'s report "Refugees and Asylum with Reference to the Vietnamese". With regard to the refugee situation in Hong Kong, it announced the following:
(i) HMG's decision, in accordance with
to
accept
for resettlement
some
500
have
SCORRI's recommendation,
who refugees relatives in the UK but who would normally fall outside the Home office's immigration criteria
immigration criteria for family reunion cases. (Most of these are in camps in Hong Kong, but a few will come from other places of first asylum in South East Asia);
(ii) depending on the willingness shown by other resettlement
countries to respond to Hong Kong's needs, HMG are prepared to consider accepting further limited numbers from Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government would similarly be prepared to absorb limited numbers into Hong Kong from the camps, but again this
will depend
other countries'
to response
initiative (Hong Kong decided in February to accept a further
250 refugees);
on
circumstances
the UK'S
agree
to
(iii) present
do not make it possible to
SCORRI's recommendation that Hong
Hong Kong's closed camp policy be ended. In HMG's view, abolition of the policy would cause
in sharp rise
of number
arrivals
and in Hong Kong, consequently an unacceptable and unmanageable rise in the camp population in Hong Kong.
are
in
a
the
to
countries
our
6.16 In line with another recommendation in the SCORRI reply, HMG
making
efforts major
to take other persuade
maximise the effect of our additional refugees from Hong Kong to maximise decisions to resettle further numbers of refugees in the UK and Hong Kong. Ministers have raised the matter with their opposite numbers
many countries, supported by regular representations by diplomatic missions.
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees accords priority to the resettlement of refugees from Hong Kong, and has put forward Hong Kong's case with many governments which seek his advice when allocating their resettlement quotas.
inter alia Australia The response has been generally encouraging:
The United
has agreed to accept a further 200 refugees, Canada 50, Finland 70,
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