TNAG-1066-FCO40-1316-Human-rights-in-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 37

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117. For those Indo-Chinese moved to third countries includ- ing 1979 arrivals from Kampuchea who had family or other close ties abroad integration in societies so different from those they knew has not been easy. They and the many thousands of people involved in helping them start a new life in their adopted lands deserve much praise for their untiring efforts.

118. For some of the Indo-Chinese, particularly a high pro- portion of the hillpeoples from Laos, resettlement is not a solution to be readily accepted. Some limited movement back

to Laos has taken place and the concerned governments do not rule out the possibility of a large-scale repatriation at some time in the future. At the end of 1981, Thailand was still host to 193 000 Indo-Chinese asylum seekers, while the other countries of the region had approximately 40 000 Vietnamese boat people on their territory.

119. The massive resettlement effort on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Indo-Chinese has brought into sharp focus the difficulties involved in the movement of large numbers of people from the South to the North. For the first time an organized intake of refugees in very large numbers from the third world, by the first world countries, has been taking place. The inevitable difficulties inherent in such situ- ations, for example the ability of refugees to integrate and become self-sufficient and the absorption capacity of the receiving society from economic, social and cultural points of view become subjects of discussion and controversy. In many quarters the question is asked whether such problems in the third world countries should not be resolved within the third world context and whether the West should assume responsibiity, as it is perceived to have done in the case of the Indo-Chinese, to accept refugee caseloads from the area for resettlement. In this regard the People's Republic of China made a major contribution: having already accepted responsibility for the 263 000 direct arrivals, it opened a resettlement quota for 10 000 Indo-Chinese from camps in the region.