TNAG-0890-FCO40-1100-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 21

SCALE OF THE PROBLEM

10.

Over 350,000 refugees are awaiting resettlement. Of these

200,000 are in Thailand, 75,000 in Malaysia and 29,000 in

Indonesia.

11.

resettlement.

The Americans and Chinese have taken over 200,000 each for

The French have taken 50,000, the Canadians

15,000 and Hong Kong 9,200. The United Kingdom had accepted

1,753 by 22 May and 350 other Indo-Chinese.

12. We have accepted over 1,000 from the MV Sibenga (to be

offset as far as possible, against the unused part of a quota of

1,500 agreed by the previous Government). Future ships' cases

will be considered on their merits. Refugees from the MV Roach

Bank will be accepted, if the Taiwanese do not take them.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE VIETNAMESE AND THE UNHCR

13. The Agreement covers people who have offers of resettlement

because of links with relatives already abroad. But this categor

of people is so small, that it will hardly affect the wider issua

ASEAN PROCESSING CENTRE

It

14. A refugee Processing Centre, if it comes about, will be for

a maximum of 10,000 people already accepted for settlement.

will be too small, therefore, to make much of a contribution to

solving the problem.