CONFIDENTIAL
11462 - 1
(III)
(IV)
(V)
WHO HAVE ALREADY SETTLED IN THE UK HAS PROVED DIFFICULT.
IN RESPONSE TO SCORRI'S RECOMMENDATION, HMG HAVE DECIDED
TO ACCEPT FOR RESETTLEMENT A FURTHER ESTIMATED 500 PLUS
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES ALL OF WHO HAVE RELATIVES IN THE UK
BUT WHO WOULD NOT QUALIFY FOR ADMISSION UNDER OUR NORMAL
CRITERIA. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE UP TO 490 IN
HONG KONG WHO MIGHT QUALIFY AND 60 IN OTHER COUNTRIES IN
SOUTH EAST ASIA.
AS
SERIOUSLY CONCERNED ABOUT SITUATION IN CAMPS IN HONG KONG
AND POTENTIAL FOR DETERIORATION. LARGEST NUMBER OF
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN ANY COUNTRY OF FIRST ASYLUM.
SCALE OF GENERAL PROBLEM HAS DECREASED SO TOO HAVE
EFFORTS OF RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES. ALTHOUGH HONG KONG
HAS THE GREATEST NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE IN THE SOUTH EAST
ASIAN REGION, RESETTLEMENT FROM THE TERRITORY IN 1984 WAS CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES (3694 COMPARED WITH 10460 (MALAYSIA), 6901 (INDONESIA) AND 6659 (THAILAND). INEVITABLE RESULT IS A FAR LONGER STAY IN
HONG KONG'S TEMPORARY TRANSIT CENTRES. THIS MUST BE
UNDESIRABLE IN TERMS OF POTENTIAL LONG TERM EFFECT ON
REFUGEES: INCREASED RISKS OF ULTIMATE DISORDER IN THE
CAMPS ALSO MATTER OF SERIOUS CONCERN FOR HMG.
WE HOPE THAT COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENTS WILL RESPOND TO
INITIATIVE BY TAKING FROM HONG KONG WHATEVER ADDITIONAL
NUMBERS THEY CAN MANAGE. HOPE NEW ZEALAND IN
PARTICULAR, AS MAJOR COMMONWEALTH COUNTRY, WILL BE ABLE
TO ASSIST. ALSO APPROACHING OTHER RESETTLEMENT AND
POTENTIAL RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES. HAVE ASKED UNHCR TO
ASSIST BY MAKING PARALLEL APPROACHES. UK CANNOT SOLVE
PROBLEM ON ITS OWN. BUT DEPENDING ON THE RESPONSE BY
OTHER COUNTRIES, WE WOULD OURSELVES CONSIDER ACCEPTING FURTHER LIMITED NUMBERS FROM HONG KONG IN ADDITION TO THE
FAMILY REUNION CASES. HONG KONG WOULD SIMILARLY BE PREPARED TO CONSIDER ACCEPTING FOR RESETTLEMENT IN HONG
KONG A LIMITED NUMBER OF ETHNIC CHINESE IF THIS FORMED
PART OF A PACKAGE AIMED AT REDUCING DRASTICALLY THE SIZE
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