TNAG-1420-FCO40-1903-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 88

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CONFIDENTIAL

Vietnamese Refugees

Background

1.

Hong Kong has largest number of Vietnamese awaiting

resettlement of any place of first asylum in South East

Asia. Because of decline in resettlement places, 60% have

been there over 3 years.

to the

2. The Government published a White Paper on

a White Paper on 26 September

in response

Home Affairs Committee's

"Refugees and Asylum with Special

Vietnamese". It announced inter alia:

(i)

(ii)

3.

report

Reference to the

resettlement

HMG's decision to accept for

s ome 500

refugees, mostly from Hong Kong, who have relatives

in the UK but who would normally fall outside the

Home Office's immigration criteria for family

reunion cases;

that, depending on the willingness shown by other

resettlement countries to respond to Hong Kong's

needs, HMG are prepared to consider accepting

further limited numbers from Hong Kong. The Hong

Kong Government would

absorb limited numbers

camps, but again this

similarly be prepared to

into Hong Kong from the

will depend on other

countries' response to the UK's initiative.

we

In order to maximise the effect of this decision,

are conducting a major diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries also to take additional numbers of refugees from Hong Kong. We have instructed posts in a wide range of countries (the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, New

Zealand, EC and other European countries), to approach their host governments immediately after the White Paper is

published.

We wish to reinforce these approaches by

raising the subject at bilateral and multilateral meetings

CONFIDENTIAL