ROBACY
CONFIDENTIAL
Vietnamese Refugees
4.
On 1 December there were 9,331 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement, compared with 8,039 on 1 January.
Numerous
5. Japan has accepted a total of 246 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong since 1975, including 23 this year. representations have been made to the Japanese during this period to
The Japanese invariably encourage them to increase their offtake.
use the defensive line that it is very difficult for Vietnamese refugees to settle in Japanese society, and that the lack of suitable refugees is the main obstacle to accepting more.
6.
Nevertheless, a Japanese resettlement mission visited Hong
They interviewed - Kong in December to look for suitable candidates. some 200 refugees, but the number they will accept is not yet known. Last year, 24 were accepted out of 150 considered.
7.
Japan is a member of the Intergovernmental Consultative Group on Indo- Chinese refugees (ICG), an informal group established to
The group discuss ways ahead on the Indo-Chinese refugee problem.
The UK comprises the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and the UNHCR.
At the most recent ICG has attended recent meetings as an observer. meeting, in Geneva in October, it was agreed that the UNHCR should attempt to engage the Vietnamese in discussion of repatriation arrangements. Japan agreed that resettlement was not the only answer to the problem of Indo-Chinese refugees. ICG, Japan tends to follow the US line and rarely suggests independent initiatives.
acceptable
Within the
CONFIDENTIAL
DE 18-77
D Ltd.
7/84