TNAG-1421-FCO40-1904-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 138

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CONFIDENTIAL

PUS'S MEETING WITH THE

MINISTRY: 30 OCTOBER 1985

SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE FRENCH FOREIGN

Vietnamese Refugees in Hong Kong

Essential Facts

General

1.

10,000 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement:

the largest number of any place of first asylum in South East Asia.

The refugees are spending increasingly long periods in Hong Kong

because of diminishing resettlement prospects: 60% have been there

over 3 years. Arrival rate has slowed since July 1982, when closed

camp policy was introduced, but flow nevertheless continues.

Report of Home Affairs Sub-Committee อก Race Relations and

Immigration (SCORRI )

2.

A Home Office White Paper in response to SCORRI S report on

"Refugees and Asylum with Special Reference to the Vietnamese" was

published on 26 September. It announced inter alia:

500 refugees

normally fall

(i) HMG's decision to accept for resettlement some

who have relatives in the UK but who would

outside the Home Office's immigration criteria for family

reunion cases. (Most of these are in camps in Hong Kong, but

a few will come from other places of first asylum in

in South

East Asia);

(ii) 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 similarly be prepared to absorb

limited numbers into Hong Kong from the camps, but again this

will depend on

countries' response to the UK's

initiative.

other

CONFIDENTIAL