TNAG-1274-FCO40-1624-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 54

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While with the issue of the new identity card going so wel

the prospects of our mastering illegal immigration are reasonably good, in the case of Vietnamese refugees the future remains bleak, We have over 600 more refugees than we had at the start of 1983,

and resettlement prospects for newcomers are now very poor. UndeTM the resettlement criteria the few remaining resettlement countries are currently applying, only about one in ten of those refugees now arriving here has any realistic prospects of resettlement in these countries. While arrivals so far this year are down by over

50% on arrivals during the same period last year, departures for resettlement are down by two thirds. Even at the current rate of resettlement, and with no further arrivals here, it would take four years to resettle those already in our open and cksed centres, over 3,000 of whom have already been here for over 3 years.

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It is against this background that I must stress this Government's determination to maintain its current firm policy towards any further uninvited arrivals from Vietnam, and to maintain all the legislative powers necessary to enforce it. because it remains also our firm intention that these problems should not be with us permanently, that this motion seeks this Council's approval for extensions of the current provisions for only a further year until 31 December 1984.

Sir, I beg to move.

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