TNAG-1419-FCO40-1902-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 81

[NRIAHS]

VISIT BY MR NICHOLAS

TRANSPORT:

CONFIDENTIAL

RIDLEY MP, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR

22-25 SEPTEMBER 1985

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG:

ESSENTIAL FACTS

General

1.

10,500 Vietnamese

refugees in Hong Kong awaiting

resettlement, the largest number of any place of first asylum

I t is becoming increasingly difficult to

places. Several resettlement countries,

failure to t ak e more

in South East Asia.

find resettlemen t

including the US, have cited the UK's

refugees from Hong Kong as a major reason

accepted some 19,000 Vietnamese for resettlement

for this.

The UK has

since 1975,

mostly from Hong Kong, but has tak en very f ew from the

territory in recent years (88 in 1984; 5 SO far in 1985).

have been severely criticised in Hong Kong for this.

Closed camp policy

We

2. Since July 1982,

from leaving by boat for Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Government have been placing all newly arriving Vietnamese refugees in closed camp s from which they are not permitted to seek outside

employment. Policy has been effective in reducing level of

arrivals, but flow nevertheless continues. There is strong

in order to discourage further Vietnamese

public support for the policy in Hong Kong.

Report of Home Affairs Sub-Committee on Race Relations and Immigration (SCORRI)

3.

eference

to

a

number

of

SCORRI's recent report "Refugees

"Refugees and Asylum with Special

the Vietnamese" included

relating to the problem of Vietnamese refugees

A Home Office White Paper in response to the

published just after Mr Ridley's visit to

recommendations

in Hong Kong.

report will be

Hong Kong. With regard to the

the refugee situation in Hong Kong,

it will announce the following:

CONFIDENTIAL