TNAG-1276-FCO40-1626-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 16

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CONFIDENTIAL

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CONFIDENTIAL

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FM HONG KONG 310935Z OCT 83

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1644 OF 31 OCTOBER

DISTRIBUTION SELECTO FILE COPY

HKK 2432

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON DEX

YOUR TELNO 1103: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.

3 10CT 1983

1. IN RAHISING YOUR POINT (C) WHITH FUNSETH, YOU SHOULD BE AWARE

OF THE FOLLOWING:

(-) UNHCR HAS IDENTIFIED 2218 **UK NO SHOWS'' HERE, OF WHOM 398

HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO U.S. PROGRAMME AS FALLING WITHIN EXISTING

CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSION (PRIORITY ONE TO FIVE), WNS HAS APPROVED

110 AND DENHED 169. THE REST (109) HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO UNHCR

BY THE USCG REFUGEE OFFICE AS NELIIGABLE: SOME MAY BE APPEALED.

IN ALL, A LIMITED EXERCISE THAT HAS DONE SOME GOOD. THE U.S. HAS

ALSO REVIEWED-757 **BATAAN REFUSALS'' AND TAKEN 329 OF THOSE.

SOME ''RES:IDUALS'' IN BOTH GROUPS WILL HOEPFULLY BE SWEPT UP IN

THE EXERC4SE AT (HM).

(1) HT IS MUCH TOO EARLY TO SAY WHAT EFFECT THE REVISED CRATERIA

WELL HAVE ON OUR VR PROBLEM. THEY SHOULD HELP NASMUCH AS ETHNIC

CHINESE WILL HENCEFORTH BE REGARDED AS HAVING PRESUMPTIVE

REFUGEE STATUS'', AND 96 PER CENT OF THE 3139 REFUGEES WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR OVER FOUR YEARS ARE CHINESE. BUT U.S. OFFTAKE,

ACCORDING TO OUR USCG REFUGEE OFFICE, IS LIMITED TO 300 PER MONTH BY STATE DEPARTMENT QUOTA, WHICH IN TURN (WE ARE TOLD) 1-5

BASED UPON THE QUOTA OF PHILIPPINES VISAS AVAILABLE FOR THE RPC

IN BATAAN. SO OUR AIM IS TO ENSURE THAT THE U.S. MEETS TS LOCAL

*'QUOTA''. WE SHALL FALL SHORT BY OVER 100 PLACES IN OCTOBER, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF NS UNTERVIEWERS.

2. THE ABOVE CLEARLY INDICATES TO US THAT MAXIMUM PRESSURE MUST

BE MAINTAINED UPON THE AMERICANS, BOTH LOCALLY AND AT STATE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, TO TAKE THE ''QUOTA'' THEY SAY THEY ARE COMMITTED TO TAKING. WE WOULD RATHER THESE WERE RESHDUALS THAN

NEW ARRIVALS, BUT THIS MAY BE A COUNSEL OF PERFECTION. WE ARE VERY WORRIED THAT, WITH THE NEXT ARRIVAL SEASON, AMERICAN ATTENTION WILL BE DIVERTED TO THAILAND AND THE KHMER, LEAVING

HONG KONG TO THE CANADIANS AND THE AUSTRAL PANS. THIS GLOOMY

PROGNOSIS WAS UNOFFICIALLY CONFIRMED BY UNHCR REPRESENTATIVES

HERE AND AT EXCOM. WE WOULD HOPE THAT FUNSCTH CAN BE PERSUADED

TO DISPEL IT.

Kon Taken

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