TNAG-1419-FCO40-1902-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 57

CONFIDENTIAL

PRIORITY

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of volunteers from the camps in Hong Kong. Involuntary

repatriation would be politically unacceptable.

Resettlement in

The

other countries of the region, also favoured by UNHCR, has not

been possible because the countries concerned have made it clear

that they are not prepared to accept any additional burden. 13. A serious difficulty in persuading other countries to take

more refugees from Hong Kong has been that the UK has in recent years taken so few from the territory (88 in 1984; 5 so far in 1985). Now that HMG have agreed to accept a new intake, we wish

to maximise the effect of the decision by launching a diplomatic

offensive to seek to persuade other countries also to offer

additional resettlement places to refugees from Hong Kong.

main countries we shall be approaching are: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, EC and other Western European

countries. (The first three already take refugees from Hong Kong

on a regular basis. They have been reluctant to take more in the

absence of a UK initiative to accept a new intak e. The other

countries listed at present take only small numbers of refugees from Hong Kong and on an irregular basis.) We shall be issuing separate instructions to posts in the countries concerned, asking

them to approach their host governments. We also wish to take advantage of any bilateral or multilateral meetings in the coming

weeks to raise the subject with representatives of those countries, and will brief ministers and senior officials

attending such meetings accordingly. We intend in particular to

do so at the forthcoming meeting of the UNHCR Executive Committee

to be held in Geneva from 7-17 October. The Hong Kong member of

the UK delegation will also lobby hard at the meeting, and Hong Kong Government Offices overseas will pursue the matter

vigorously.

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