TNAG-1424-FCO40-1907-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-general-1985 — Page 42

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布政司沿

香港下亞厘翠道

*YM OUR REF.: (53) in SRD 501/9/C

*MM* YOUR REF.:

The Editor

Hong Kong Standard

830 Lai Chi Kok Road Kowloon

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

1 March 1985

Dear Sir,

In her letter (Standard, 8 February 1985), Mrs Elliott seems to have ignored, or not to have seen, the answers to her earlier letters concerning family reunion and young women at risk.

Since November last year it has been possible for refugees who claim to have a spouse in a closed camp to be reunited with that spouse in the closed camp. All family reunion applications. are treated quickly and sypmpathetically. Out of 60 cases identified by the Immigration Department as potential family reunions, 45 have expressed an interest in reunion and, to date, three have actually applied and/been reunited. The Government has been doing what Mrs Elliott advocates for the-last three months.

Mrs Elliott again calls for protection for young women at risk, yet she is now the major impediment to their receiving the protection which she seeks. Because she has refused to provide any details, I have only been able to speak to officials, members of voluntary agencies, medical staff and refugees in the closed centres in general terms; all have readily admitted that there are fights and disputes; none have any knowledge of the sort of incidents to which she refers. Further investigation is impossible without more specific information.

Mrs Elliott claims (Standard, 11 January 1985) that her "sole purpose is to have the matter properly investigated by those whose duty it is to keep law and order". I believe that she is sincere in this purpose and hope that she will now agree that the only responsible course of action is for her to provide me with details of her allegations. In this way, a thorough and impartial. investigation can be carried out with all possible speed and the young women, whom Mr Bliott wishes to protect, can, if necessary, be kept from harm.

(K. J. Woodhouse)

for Secretary for Security