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62.
are
It is now clear that resettlement countries
becoming more selective in choosing the
Vietnamese refugees they are prepared to accept.
Most of them now insist that those they take should
have close family connections with Vietnamese already
settled in their countries.
This is creating
particular problem for Hong Kong, as an increasing
number of refugees arriving in the territory are
ethnic Vietnamese from
from North Vietnam, who have no
family connections in countries of resettlement.
Many refugees in Hong Kong have already waited years
in the hope of being resettled and as many as 3,500
of them have been in Hong Kong for more than five
years.
63.
Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong
government, with the assistance of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, will continue with
their efforts to obtain more resettlement places for
Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. What is needed is
a long term solution which deals with the problem at
its source in Vietnam. This will, however, require a
co-operative effort by a number of countries and
considerable patient diplomacy
to achieve positive
results.
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