TNAG-0794-FCO40-998-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 113

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Vietnamese Refugees

15 DECEMBER 1978

that $12 million of new money was offered at the conference. tional $1 million. It is not the case that We offered an addi- we have been suddenly converted to the idea of giving financial help to the High Commissioner. We have been doing it consistently since at least 1976. In that year we gave £350,000 to the High Com- missioner's general programme plus £2 million in relief and humanitarian assist- ance for the various United Nations and other programmes for Indo-China.

Last year we gave £1 million to the general programme. This year so far we have pledged, including the £500,000 that I offered this week, £2 million for the United Nations High Commissioner for him to use for Indo-Chinese refugees plus £3.5 million for the general programme. It cannot therefore be said that we have not made fairly substantial and generous offers of financial assistance to the United Nations High Commissioner. That is per- haps one of the most important things that we can do, although I hope that we shall be able to offer more places, 100.

I turn finally to the more general prob- lem. I agree with the hon. Members for Beckenham and Shoreham (Mr. Luce) about this. First, we must recognise the magnitude of the problem. has increased dramatically over_the_last The flow two or three months. I heard today from what I think is a well-informed source

that it may have eased off quite a lot in the last week or two. I hope that it has. The belief was that perhaps the Vietnamese Government account of the urgent appeals made to had taken it about the problem. However, the prob- lem is a major one and we have to think of alternative countries that would be will- ing to receive the refugees.

I agree that Latin American countries appear to be a likely source of offers. We know that these countries are looking for more immigrants. Chinese immigrants are generally re- I know that Indo- garded as being satisfactory in that they are hardworking and quickly find them- selves jobs and housing.

Several hon. Members have suggested that China might be asked to take a larger number of refugees. China has, however, already taken number. It has taken 170,000 refugees a substantial from the north of Vietnam in the fairly

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recent past. The important point about this suggestion is that in refugee pro- grammes important account is taken of what the refugees want, and where they want to go. A large proportion of these people have left Vietnam because they They therefore do not necessarily want to do not like life in that kind of society. live in China where the society, although displaying great political differences from Vietnam, is in some way similar. If most of the refugees now in Thailand and Malaysia were asked whether they would like to go to China, I do not think that many of them would say obvious potential answer to the problem. I wish that they would, because it is an Yes".

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As I said at the conference, the real long-term solution is that one should hope that the ultimate cause of their being refugees should be removed. In other words, we should hope that conditions in Vietnam which created should be changed. Above all, one should the problem certainly hope to see an end to the situa- tion which has been reported recently in which Government or local officials in Vietnam have been taking payment to allow the exodus.

I and the Australian delegate at the conference asked that Vietnam should seek to secure a more orderly flow or to by leaving the country. I should like to do something to ensure that people are not in grave danger of losing their lives think that there will be such changes in Vietnamese society that many refugees would like to go back.

There was talk at the conference this week about voluntary repatriation to Vietnam. I am not sure whether that is refugees would not want to go back to always practicable. In some cases the that type of society or regime. In other cases they would like to have the chance of resettlement in a country of a much higher standard of living.

For

There may be other reasons. example, there may be Chinese who do not want to go back to Vietnam just because they are Chinese. I entirely long-term solution to the problem is that agree that one must hope that the ultimate the reasons that have caused this terrible flow of refugees out of Vietnam and this terrible problem will cease to exist.