TNAG-1182-FCO40-1484-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 71

From The Minster of Stare

copied to H.K

AF2319

London SW1A 2AH

P.A.

4 August 1982

(167

THG-518

нки 243/1

im Niman,

HONG KONG: REFUGEES

1 166/8

Thank you for your letter of 23 July to Cranley Onslow enclosing one from your constituent, Miss Susan Shaw, about refugees from South East Asia in Hong Kong.

See (209)

I note Miss Shaw's concern for the Vietnamese refugees, and share her wish that they should be resettled safely in third countries. She may not be aware of the Hong Kong Government's record in the field. Since 1975, some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Hong Kong. None has been turned away and the conditions under which they have been housed and cared for compare favourably with those in other countries in the region. With the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, about 90,000 refugees have been resettled in third countries, including over 11,000 in the United Kingdom.

Recently, however, resettlement opportunities have decreased, and the number of refugees reaching Hong Kong from Vietnam, while lower than in the peak year of 1979, has increased over 1981. The number of refugees in Hong Kong has, therefore, started to rise again, and indeed, there are now more boat refugees in Hong Kong than in any other country in South-East Asia.

Hong Kong already has, of course, one of the highest population concentrations in the world and faces considerable pressures as a result of immigration from China. One cannot but sympathise with them at having also to cope with the additional pressure of Vietnamese refugees. However, the Hong Kong Govern- ment and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are doing what they can to look after the refugees and I can assure Miss Shaw that every effort is being made to find resettlement places for them.

Norman Lamont Esq MP House of Commons LONDON SWIA OAA

(BELSTEAD)