CONFIDENTIAL
that Mr Hartling and other senior officials would be in favour.
Indeed, in 1984 when Hong Kong detained as illegal immigrants 13
Iranians who had arrived with forged passports, UNHCR requested that
they should be granted refugee status in Hong Kong because they
could not be returned either to Pakistan or Iran.
24.
On 15 January the Hong Kong Executive Council discussed the
Hong Kong Government's screening proposals and advised that they
should not be implemented at present. However they recommended that
the proposals should be included in the present paper as one of the
options available, to be kept under review, in the light of the
resettlement position and the likelihood of the Vietnamese agreeing
to repatriation at some foreseeable stage.
B.
Options designed to increase the
increase the rate of departures
25. (a) Voluntary repatriation to Vietnam
In general, UNHCR consider voluntary repatriation to be the most
desirable solution to refugee problems. But, not suprisingly, there
have been few volunteers for repatriation to Vietnam. Of the 20 who
have so far applied from Hong Kong, 14 have returned to Vietnam; the
other six applications are still pending. The response to Mr
Hartling's approach in September 1984 (para 16(c) above) augurs
badly for any large scale repatriation to Vietnam; and unless the
Vietname se government gives adequate assurances of humane treatment,
there are not likely to be many more volunteers.
(b) Local absorption
UNHCR also favour settlement in the country of first asylum. Hong
Kong has absorbed over 14000 displaced Indo-Chinese, mostly from
Vietnam, since 1975. Hong Kong's relative wealth might be cited as
a reason to take a greater number of Vietnamese. But the territory
is already densely populated; it has had to deal with enormous
immigration from China in the same period and Chinese legal
immigrants still number over 27000 a year. The people of Hong Kong
would be unlikely to welcome Vietnamese immigration while illegal
immigrants from China are being repatriated daily. However, if the
flow of Vietnamese arrivals slows to a trickle, it would be reasonable to expect Hong Kong to absorb a proportion of those in
CONFIDENTIAL
Page 135Page 136
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.