TNAG-1276-FCO40-1626-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 25

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FM HONG KONG 25053OZ OCT 83

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1594 OF 25 OCTOBER 1983

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INFO PRIORITY TOKYO AND ROUTHWE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON

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RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

FOLLOWING H'S THE TEXT OF OUR LETTER TO THE JAPANESE CONSUL-GENERAL..

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QUOTE VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

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HAVE RECENTLY BEEN INFORMED BY OUR REPRESENTATIVE ATTENDING THE CURRENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES IN GENEVA THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS JUST ANNOUNCED A CEILING OF 5,000 PLACES IN RESPECT OF THE JAPANESE QUOTA FOR VIETNAMESE REFUGEES TO BE ACCEPTED FOR RESETTLEMENT IN JAPAN FROM PLACES OF FIRST ASYLUMN SOUTH- EAST ASIA. WOULD TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SUMMARISE A LITTLE OF THE BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT WIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM UN HONG KONG AND TO SUGGEST THAT HONG KONG BE ALLOCATED A PROPORTION OF THIS QUOTA APPROPRIATE TO HTS PRESENT DIFFICULT SITUATION.

2. THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT REMAINS GRATEFUL TO THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT FOR THE HELP IT HAS SO FAR GIVEN TOWARDS RELIEVING US OF OUR REFUGEE BURDEN IN HONG KONG. RECENTLY A JAPANESE SELECTION TEAM VISITED HERE IN MID-SEPTEMBER AND IDENTIFIED 24 PERSONS FOR POSSIBLE RESETTLEMENT MÄN JAPAN: IT IS HOPED THAT ALL THESE CASES WILL BE GIVEN FAVOURABLE CONSIDERATION.

3. THE ROLE OF HONG KONG HIN RESPECT OF REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM IS ESSENTIALLY THAT OF A PLACE OF TEMPORARY ASYLUM. WE ACCEPT THE REFUGEES ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WILL BE RESETTLED PERMANENTLY ELSEWHERE. THIS FACT HAS BEEN CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY ALL CONCERNED SINCE THE GENEVA CONFERENCE ON NDO-CHINESE REFUGEES IN MID-1979. YET HONG KONG NOW HAS THE HIGHEST BOAT REFUGEE POPULATION IN THE REGION (29 PER CENT OF THE REGIONAL TOTAL): AND WITH RESETTLEMENT RUNNING AT THE PRESENT RATE OF ONLY ABOUT 350 PER MONTH HIT WILL TAKE MORE THAN 3 YEARS TO RESETTLE EVEN THE 13,443 REFUGEES ALREADY HERE. IN PRACTICE THE PROBLEM IS GETTING STEADILY WORSE. ALTHOUGH BY OUR OWN EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE A HUMANELY DETERRENT POLICY OF QUOTE CLOSED CENTRES UNQUOTE THE RATE OF ARRIVAL HERE HAS DECREASED EVEN FURTHER. OUR CURRENT REFUGEE POPULATION S 3,600 MORE THAN IT WAS IN APRIL 1982. OF THESE, 4,362 (33 PER CENT) HAVE BEEN HERE FOR OVER TWO YEARS.

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