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HONOLULU CONFERENCE
12 In August 1983 US Government invited Canada, Japan, France, Australia and UNHCR (as observers) to attend Ministerial level
meeting to discuss ways of increasing resettlement within
South East Asia. France did not attend. UK received last
minute invitation; too late to arrange for a suitable
representative to attend. Although participants were reported to have concluded that major resettlement states should maintain
current high rates of resettlement over next 18-24 months, little
of real substance appears to have been achieved, at least from
Hong Kong's point of view. There was no noticeable increase in
resettlement from Hong Kong as a result of the conference.
13 A possible follow-up meeting to the Honolulu Coneference has
been proposed and an informal meeting between resettlement and first asylum countries and UNHCR was held in the margins of the 1984 UNHCR Executive Committee Meeting in Geneva. This was
attended by the UK. But to date no further conference has been
convened. Difficult for the UK to take the initiative in calling a conference since we are not at the moment in a position our- selves to offer any additional resettlement places for refugees from Hong Kong. As our memorandum makes clear, this position is not easily understood by other countries, who regard Hong Kong as a UK responsibility.
Bilateral Contacts with other Governments
14 We and the Hong Kong Government take every opportunity at Ministerial and official level, to remind other governments of the need for increased resettlement from Hong Kong and we shall continue to do so.
Possible Repercussions in Hong Kong if the UK accepted a further quota of refugees from Hong Kong
15 It has been suggested that there might be adverse repercussions among British Dependent Territory Citizens in Hong Kong if more
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