The British Government too have played their full part.
It was
our initiative which led to the Geneva Conference
in 1979, when there were nearly 70,000 arrivals in Hong
Kong from Vietnam. The arrangements which were agreed at
that Conference have served Hong Kong well. Nearly
110,000 boat people have been resettled from Hong Kong
since 1979, and 13,000 of these have come to the united
Kingdom. Our record on resettlement certainly bears
comparison with that of other countries which, unlike
Britain, have continuing programmes of large-scale
immigration.
We have reviewed our resettlement commitment in the light
of recent developments. As you will know, the British
Government announced on 22 December that we are prepared
in principle to take a further 1,000 Vietnamese refugees
From Hong Kong over 2-3 years, provided that others are
prepared to contribute commensurately. I enclose the
:ext of Mr Eggar's statement to the House of Commons,
setting out our intentions. Once the necessary
conditions are met, our new resettlement programme could
be introduced with immediate effect and the rate of >e
resettlement increased from 20 to 40 per month.
is you well know, there are no easy solutions to this tragic
>roblem.
But I hope that this letter will reassure you
:he British Government are ready to play their full part
In a genuine international effort to tackle it.