TNAG-1372-FCO40-1818-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 130

GRS 1000

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

10

CONFIDENTIAL

1'OP COP

нии 02716

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

2 1 OCT 1985

TELNO 2223

OF 1809JJZ OCTOBER 85

INFO PEKING

VISIT OF MR RENTON

DESK

BRIEFING TELEGRAM: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

INDEX

PA

LINE TO TAKE

NEGISTRY

Action Taken

1. AS A RESULT OF THE SCORRI REPORT, HMG HAS BROADENED ITS CRITERIA IN RESPECT OF FAMILY REUNION CASES WITH THE RESULT THAT ABOUT 500 MORE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG WILL NOW QUALIFY FOR RESETTLEMENT IN BRITAIN. THEY WILL BE RESETTLED AT THE RATE OF

ABOUT 40 PER MONTH.

2. SQUARE BRACKETS BEGIN TO AVOID ATTRACTING A FURTHER EXODUS FROM VIETNAM, THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE USED PUBLICLY ONLY IF PRESSED.

SQUARE BRACKETS END

HMG, HKG AND UNHCR HAVE LAUNCHED A MAJOR EXERCISE TO APPEAL TO ALL POSSIBLE RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES TO BROADEN THEIR CRITERIA AND TO TAKE MORE REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG. HMG WILL ALSO CONSIDER ACCEPTING

A FURTHER LIMITED NUMBER FROM HONG KONG.

3. HONG KONG STILL HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE BOAT REFUGEES IN SOUTH EAST ASIA (28 PER CENT OF THE REGIONAL TOTAL). HKG MUST CONTINUE WITH THE CLOSED CENTRES AS A DETERRENT. CONDITIONS IN CLOSED CENTRES ARE GENERALLY GOOD. TO MAKE LIFE IN THEM MORE TOLERABLE AND TO PREPARE THE REFUGEES FOR SPEEDIER RESETTLEMENT, HKG IN CONJUNCTION WITH UNHCR AND THE VOLUNTARY AGENCIES IS LAUNCHING A FURTHER SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL, VOCATIONAL AND LANGUAGE

TRAINING PROGRAMMES IN THE CLOSED CENTRES.

BACKGROUND

SINCE THEN, ABOUT

4. THE FIRST VR'S REACHED HONG KONG ON 1975. 115,000 HAVE ARRIVED. HONG KONG'S PRESENT VR POPULATION IS ABOUT 10,000 AND HAS BEEN SO SINCE 1982.

5. IN THE FACE OF A CONTINUING HIGH RATE OF ARRIVALS AND OF DIMINISHING RESETTLEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED CLOSED CENTRES AS A DETERRENT IN 1982. AS SINCE THEN ARRIVALS HAVE DECREASED, THE PROBABILITY IS THAT THE DETERRENT HAS

HAD SOME EFFECT.

CONFIDENTIAL

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