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Although 1984 and 1985 saw a continuation of this trend, the rate of arrivals rose in 1096, continued to rise rapidly in 1987 and during
arrivals in the first few mont. of 1988 rose even more steeply:
a seven-fold increase on 1987. 1988 to mid May were over 3600 There are at present over 13,400 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement.
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Following the Home Affairs Committee's Sub-Committee on Race Relations and Immigration (SCORRI)'s report "Refugees and Asylum with Special Reference to the Vietnamese", Britain decided in September 1985 to accept for resettlement some 500 refugees who have relatives in the UK but who would normally fall outside the Home Office's immigration criteria for family reunion cases. These refugees have now arrived.
On 8 May 1987 the Home Secretary announced in Parliament that Britain would be accepting a further 468 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong over the next two years. Following the announcement, the British Government has undertaken a diplomatic campaign urging other resettlement
(After countries to accept more Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong. the 1985 announcement some 1200 further resettlement places were secured as a result of a similar campaign). Responses so far this year have been disappointing but we will persist in our resettlement efforts.
As the Home Secretary made clear in Parliament, the British Government does not consider that resettlement alone is a sufficient answer to the problem. We have been discussing with other major resettlement countries and the UNHCR the basis for a common approach aimed at finding durable solutions to the problem.
Conservative Research Dept. 32 Smith Square, London SW1
KRS/EDP 6.6.88