TNAG-0972-FCO40-1191-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 110

and were expected to be ready for despatch to Hong Kong via FCO by the

middle of May. I1 Division would take the views of the Immigration

and Nationality Department selection team on the best ways of using the

slides in Hong Kong and would advise FCO accordingly;

(b)

Letters written from reception centres to Vietnamese in Hong Kong had

proved useful in encouraging refugees to come forward for selection, but

letters specifically sought might give an unduly favourable account

of life here without paying due attention to the difficulties of longer-

term resettlement;

(c) Mr Marshall undertook to find out what use had been made of, and what

the response had been to, the recently-produced UNHCR film about reception

and resettlement in the UK. He said that the JCRV, which had been

considering the possibility of preparing written material for orientation

purposes in Hong Kong, now took the view that a permanent representative

in Hong Kong might provide a more effective channel of communication to

the refugees. Written material produced by other resettlement countries

had, as far as he knew, been directed at sponsor groups in those countries

and not at the refugees;

(a)

The provision of English language learning materials to those not yet

selected was not the responsibility of the UK Government but was

arguably, the joint responsibility of all the English-speaking resettle-

countries

ment and of the Hong Kong Government;

(c)

Mr Goddard reported the JCRV view that there should be a co-ordinated

approach by resettlement countries to counselling refugees about each

country's criteria for resettlement and the conditions they would find

2.