TNAG-1421-FCO40-1904-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 86

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A

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

will depend on other countries' response to the UK's

initiative;

(iii) present

circumstances do

do not make it possible to agree to

SCORRI's recommendation that Hong Kong's closed camp policy be

ended. In HMG's view, abolition of the policy would cause a

sharp rise in the number of arrivals in Hong Kong, and consequently an unacceptable and unmanageable rise in the camp population in Hong Kong.

Copies of the SCORRI recommendations, and relevant sections of the White paper are attached.

3.

To maximise the effect of our decision on resettlement, we are

pressing other countries as widely as possible to

to take additional

numbers of refugees from Hong Kong. Posts in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, EC and other European countries have approached their host governments, and we have raised the subject at bilateral and multilateral meetings whenever opportunities have arisen in recent weeks. Responses have been mixed. Most countries have been sympathetic to our request, but it is too early yet to

know how many will respond with concrete offers of resettlement places. So far only Australia, New Zealand and Luxembourg have offered specific increases (up to 200, 10 and "some families"

respectively).

German position

4. West Germany has accepted about 2,400 vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong since 1975, more than any other European country apart from the UK. Most of these went to Germany in 1979/80: recently it has accepted very few (1 in 1984, 43 so far this year). However it continues to accept large numbers direct from Vietnam (about 1,000 in the past year). Altogether it has accepted 31,000 Indo-Chinese refugees since 1975 (compared with the UK's 19,000), and has issued permits for 5,000 more.

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