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family reunion cases, is pertinent, and I hope that you will
be able to accept it.
9.
However while a decision to admit the family reunion
cases will undoubtedly be helpful, I am convinced that it will
not be sufficient on a long term basis to persuade other
resettlement countries to continue taking larger numbers from
Hong Kong. A one-off gesture is likely to be forgotten all too soon. The only course which will enable us to convince other
resettlement countries that we are facing up to our responsib-
ilities, and thus to put real pressure on them to help further,
is a commitment to a continuing offtake by the UK.
In my
view, given the order of numbers which other major resettle-
ment countries are now accepting, a figure of the order of
500 a year will be necessary.
10. I know that a decision to take such a number on a
continuing basis will not be an easy one for HMG, and that
resettlement of Vietnamese in this country is difficult.
Nevertheless I believe that it is the key to unlocking the
resettlement problem, and that failure to unlock it will have
much graver consequences.
11. If this approach can be agreed I propose to use it as a basis for a major diplomatic offensive with other resettle- ment countries and potential resettlement countries designed
to persuade them to increase their offtake from Hong Kong.
We are not in a position to bargain with them, since they do not owe us anything in this respect; but I am nevertheless optimistic that we will thereby secure a general increase in
efforts. The Americans and Australians in effect said as much
to SCORRI. I would also be willing to seek to persuade the
Hong Kong Government to accept for resettlement in Hong Kong some of the refugees of Chinese race at present in the open camps, though this will be difficult for the Executive Council
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