TNAG-1224-FCO40-1537-Visits-to-the-UK-by-official-and-unofficial-members-of-the-E-1983 — Page 38

ESSENTIAL FACTS

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

CONFIDENTIAL

1.

We shall be submitting to Mr Luce on this subject on 1 July. The submission contains background information on the situation in Hong Kong and a summary of recent action and recommends what might be next done to help Hong Kong.

2.

Mr Luce may find the following additional information useful:

UK Policy On Resettlement

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including dependants have been accepted here.

Following the Geneva Conference on Refugees in 1979 HMG announced that they would accept 10,000 boat people from Hong Kong for resettlement in the UK. To date over 16,000 and those rescued by British shipping The UK also continues to accept ship rescue and close family reunion. cases and others to whom it is committed under the Orderly Departure Programme (ODP). (The ODP is an arrangement whereby the UNHCR process applications from people wishing to leave Vietnam for third

countries). However resettlement in the UK has not been

particularly successful. Moreover the Home Office is under constant

pressure to resettle refugees from elsewhere (eg Poland, Iran). Pym wrote to Mr Whitelaw in February to ask if anything can be done to alleviate Hong Kong's position. Mr Whitelaw replied that he could not agree to any further concessions.

Mr

Hong Kong Department

30 June 1983

CONFIDENTIAL