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corresponding period in 1987;
a 35% increase in the 'total Vietnamese refugee population in
Hong Kong since this time last year;
strong indications that the arrival rate is set to increase
sharply later this year;
a resettlement situation which the Hong Kong Government
describe as "bad and getting worse";
unwillingness of the international community to maintain a resettlement programme which will keep pace with arrivals and indeed recognition that resettlement stimulates the
outflow from Vietnam;
A
B
C
4.
growing public opposition in Hong Kong to the present policy, together with increasing calls for Hong Kong to cease to be a place of first asylum;
a threat from LegCo not to vote funds for a fourth closed camp unless policy changes are made.
Against this background, the Hong Kong Government have begun to consider a new policy under which, from a certain date, Hong Kong would cease to be a place of first asylum for all arrivals from Vietnam. Their thinking is still at a preliminary stage and still in a state of flux. Paragraphs 10-12 of Hong Kong telno 1539 set
one possible approach, whereby all new Vietnamese boat arrivals would be treated as illegal immigrants and would be detained pending repatriation to Vientam. Our interpretation of the telegram was that there would be no screening on arrival to determine eligibility for refugee status, because this could severely undermine the deterrent effect of the policy. In our telno 1047 we argued strongly that such an approach would be unacceptable both internationally and in terms of opinion here and would not be in The Governor has now sent us Hong Kong's own broader interests.
He is not further telegram of clarification (Hong Kong telno 1598). ruling out the idea of screening new arrivals; and indeed his
a
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