TNAG-1068-FCO40-1318-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1981 — Page 45

Telephone:

01-235 5454

Telex: 918657

A:B 918657 BRCS.G.

9 GROSVENOR CRESCENT

LONDON, SW1X 7EJ

+

Overseas Cobles:

REDCROS, LONDON, S.W.1

Inland Telegrams: REDCROS, LONDON, TELEX

Patron and President: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

Miss Nancy Rice Jones

Secretary

Standing Conference on Refugees

Parnell House

25 Wilton Road

London SW1

Dear Nancy,

29th May 1981

NOTE Luster obtund from SCOR Survy or

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7.6.811

Susan Balfour has written to you today about the Hong Kong boat people and as I understand that there is a meeting of the Asia Committee on the 9th June I hope they will be able to consider this letter in the nature of an official request. The Chairman of our Red Cross Transit Committee is himself a Government Official, as you know, and has written to us privately to say that the Hong Kong Government is seriously concerned with this problem.

The attached fact sheets show that the United Kingdom is nearly at the end of its present quota of which there is a balance of nearly 600. Meanwhile the seasonal influx this year is progressing at a considerably higher rate than 1980 and the situation is worrying for two reasons: a) the very high rate of "non appearances" of refugees who have applied

and been accepted by this country when the time comes to leave Hong Kong. b) the increasing signs that the U.S.A. is beginning to meet resistance

to their own resettlement programme unless the other countries appear to be willing to revise their own quotas in an upward direction. With or without any new influx, it would still be disasterous for these refugees if the U.S.A. was to cut down at all on their intake.

With regard to the problem (a) the Hong Kong Government finds itself only able bjustify its acceptance of the Vietnamese (as opposed to its st line with Chinese immigrants) if it is seen to be holding the former on a temporary basis only and re exporting them for permanent settlement at a reasonable rate. The high rate of "non appearances" is therefore extremely embarassing to the Government of Hong Kong and it has decided to pass a new legislation to enable it to detain for 28 days any refugee who turns down a resettlement offer.

I hope some of the above information may be helpful in providing ammuniti for yet another initiative with the Home Office aimed at increasing the quota, in view of the special obligation which we have towards Hong Kong, as compared with other countries, which is over and above any obligation to the Vietnamese refugees themselves.

A B Hodgson Counsellor

Your

Brian.

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