TNAG-1422-FCO40-1905-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1986 — Page 158

GR 400

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 2458

OF 1108597 NOVEMBER 85

INFO ROUTINE TOKYO

FOR LEEKS

FROM WOODHOUSE

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.

Hong Kong Dept.

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WE HAVE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING REPORT FROM JOHN YEUNG, ASSISTANT

DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION, WHO VISITED JAPAN AS A PARTICIPANT IN

11

A SENIOR STAFF COURSE. HE SPOKE TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE ADMINISTRATION

DIVISION OF THE IMMIGRATION BUREAU IN THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE WHO

SAID HE HAD JUST RECEIVED A REQUEST FROM THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

TO TAKE MORE BOAT REFUGEES. HE ASKED HOW SERIOUS THE PROBLEM WAS

AND WHAT HONG KONG HAD DONE SO FAR. YEUNG GAVE HIM A BRIEF RUN DOWN

OF THE SITUATION AND INDICATED THAT, DESPITE ITS SMALL SIZE, HONG

KONG HAD TAKEN 14,500 REFUGEES ALREADY AND WAS STILL EXAMINING THE

POSSIBILITY OF TAKING MORE. THE DIRECTOR SAID THAT THERE WERE ABOUT

1,000 BOAT REFUGEES IN JAPAN ACCOMMODATED IN ABOUT 10 CENTRES. HIS

EXPERIENCE WAS THAT MANY DID NOT FAVOUR SETTLEMENT IN JAPAN BECAUSE

OF THE LANGUAGE BARRIER AND CUSTOM DIFFERENCES AND HE WONDERED WHY

JAPAN HAD BEEN ASKED TO TAKE MORE. YEUNG REPLIED THAT IT WOULD NOT

BE CORRECT TO ASSUME THAT BOAT REFUGEES IN HONG KONG DID NOT WANT

TO SETTLE IN JAPAN. BUT IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR HKG TO PUT

THIS POSSIBILITY TO THE REFUGEES WITHOUT SOME INDICATION FROM THE

JAPANESE GOVERNMENT THAT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO DO SO. IF HIS GOVERNMENT COULD GIVE A POSITIVE INDICATION AND A QUOTA, WE COULD THEN START ENQUIRIES. THE DIRECTOR SAID THAT HE WOULD BE DESPATCHING A TEAM OF OFFICERS TO HONG KONG TO EXAMINE THE PROBLEM.

2. WE THINK THAT THIS REPORT SHOULD BE READ WITH THAT OF MY MEETING IN GENEVA WITH HORIMURA, WHO SAID THAT HE HAD NOT REALISED THE SERIOUSNESS OF HONG KONG'S REFUGEE PROBLEM. HE ALSO RAISED THE QUESTION OF WHETHER VIETNAMESE REFUGEES HERE WOULD WISH TO BE RESETTLED IN JAPAN. I SAID THAT EACH JAPANESE MISSION HAD BEEN OVER-SUBSCRIBED SEVERAL TIMES.

"CONFIDENTIAL

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