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Sir, the closed camps are not the ideal solution for refugees, the ideal solution is to have them resettled as as possible. However, the closed camps in themselves are not inhumane or demoralizing. What is really demoralizing for the refugees is that they have to wait year after year in Hong Kong and have their applications rejected by resettlement countries.
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Hong Kong is a small and densely populated place. need the assistance of resettlement countries to solve our
Vietnamese refugee problem. Britain is responsible for Hong Kong affairs for the next 12 years. It is logical that Britain should take the initiative to help Hong Kong to resettle these refugees. Yet, in 1984, a large country like Britain only accepted 88 refugees from Hong Kong of which over 20 were ship-rescue cases. Britain's intake of refugees from Hong Kong in the last three years amounts to only 2.5% of the resettled refugees. With this level of help from Britain, what chances have we got to convince other countries to take in more refugees from Hong Kong? The stringent policy practised by the Home Office in U.K. even bars family reunion of refugees with close relatives residing in Britain. I therefore welcome the recommendation in the recent report of the Home Affairs Committee that Britain should relax its family reunion criteria. Indeed, Britain should at least follow the examples of the two Commonwealth countries, Australia and Canada, which accepted 20% and 27% respectively of the refugees from Hong Kong in 1984.
Short of a renewed commitment by U.K., we cannot expect other countries to take up a more substantial burden than they have already done. It is therefore imperative that Britain should take the lead. If Britain cannot take up this responsibility, then there will be more frustrated, bitter and 'hard core' refugees in Hong Kong, and the people of Hong Kong have to live with the problem indefinitely. We have always been willing to help others in need. However, there is a limit to patience and understanding. When the threshold is passed, it is only natural that Hong Kong people will request more
drastic measures.
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