TNAG-1276-FCO40-1626-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 209

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BE ABOUT 10,000, SINCE THE AMERICANS WERE NOW GOING TO COUNT TOWARDS THE OVERALL FIGURE SOME 20,000 REFUGEES WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN FORMALLY ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES, BUT WERE STILL UNDERGOING PRELIMINARY TRAINING COURSES IN CAMPS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND INDONESIA. THE TROUBLE WAS THAT MOST OF THOSE IN THE HONG KONG TRANSIT CAMPS DID NOT QUALIFY UNDER US LAW FOR IMMIGRATION INTO THE UNITED STATES. THE LEGAL CRITERIA WERE ON THE ONE HAND THAT THE

REFUGEES SHOULD BE QUOTE POLITICAL UNCUOTE RATHER THAN QUOTE

ECONOMIC UNQUOTE: AND ON THE OTHER HAND THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE IDENTIFIABLE CLAIMS UPON THE UNITED STATES, EG THAT THEY HAD WORKED FOR THE US FORCES IN VIETNAM OR THAT THEY HAD RELATIVES IN THE

UNITED STATES. THE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG, WHO CAME FROM NORTH

VIETNAM, DID NOT FIT THESE CATEGORIES. DOUGLAS WAS AWARE THAT WE WOULD LIKE THE CRITERIA TO BE RELAXED. THE TROUBLE WAS THAT THERE WERE LARGE NUMBERS OF REFUGEES IN TRANSIT CAMPS IN THAILAND,

INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA WHO CAME FROM SOUTH VIETNAM, AND WHO MET THE EXISTING CRITERIA. THESE WOULD HAVE TO BE GIVEN PRIORITY.

COMMENT

4. IT SEEMS TO BE STILL OPEN TO US TO SEND A REPRESENTATIVE TO

THE HONOLULU MEETING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JOINT ASSESSMENT AND

TO SPELL OUT THE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS OF HMG AND OF HONG KONG. THE ABSENT ARE ALWAYS WRONG, AND DESPITE THE WILLINGNESS OF THE AUSTRALIANS TO BE HELPFUL (CANBERRA TELNO 374), THEIR VOICE MAY

NOT BE LOUD ENOUGH TO CARRY THE OTHER RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES.

WRIGHT

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