TNAG-1426-FCO40-1909-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-general-1985 — Page 115

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From The Minister of State

Richard Luce MP

ARD.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

21 June 1985

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Thank you for your letter of 11 June enclosing a letter from your constituent, Mrs Theodora Meade of 28 Thorns Drive, Greasby, Wirral, about the problem of the Vietnamese refugees who are at present in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement.

There are in fact some 11,000 refugees in this position, divided almost equally between open and closed camps. Mrs Meade may be interested to read the enclosed copy of the speech I made at a recent Adjournment Debate on the subject, which explains some of the background to the present situation in Hong Kong.

I fully agree with Mrs Meade that the plight of the children in the camps is particularly sad. We certainly have no wish to see them, or indeed any of the adult refugees, remain there any longer than is absolutely necessary: we must try to find durable solutions for all of them as soon as possible. To this end we maintain regular dialogue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other resettlement countries. 3,694 refugees were resettled from Hong Kong in 1984, and 1,521 have been resettled so far this year. We cannot of course predict how long those still in camps will have to wait before resettle- ment places can be found for them. Regrettably it is becoming increasingly difficult to find places.

The question which Mrs Meade raises about admission of refugees into the United Kingdom is of course a matter for the Home Office. I would however point out that we have accepted some 19,000 Vietnamese refugees for resettlement in the UK since 1975, and have a continuing international commitment to resettle family reunion and ship rescue cases. We are of course giving very careful consideration to the recommendations in the recent report of the Sub-Committee on Race Relations and Immigration, several of which relate specifically to the problem of the refugees in Hong Kong, and will give our response to the House as soon as possible.

David Hunt Esq MBE MP

House of Commons

London SWLA OAA

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