TNAG-1525-FCO40-2089-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1986 — Page 182

CJ1AJU

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Telephone 01-

233 3988

Your reference

PHB Baker Esq BRUSSELS

Our reference

LKK Q13/1 RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

HKK 243/1

Date

6 March 1986

10 MAR 1986

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

Action Taken

Dear Pien,

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

1.

Thank you for your Telno 48 reporting your approaches to Schokkaert and Beyens. With regard to the former's request for information on recent intakes by EC partners and ou r telecon

will have seen

Telno y ou

UKMIS Geneva Dutch have accepted a total of 70 refugees.

2.

relatives

88

reporting

that the

The Dutch have told US that their allocation for Hong Kong is 50 places of which, as the TUR indicates, 40 have been filled. The other 30 the Dutch have accepted are outside this quota;

(spouses and dependent minors) are accepted automatically upon request by UNHCR and the relative in question. The disabled refugees are part of a "Ten/Twenty ог

UNHCR more"

they

countries

say

to block

that

off

close

encouraging of their quotas

programme

resettlement for these a proportion of otherwise hard to resettle cases. We should be grateful if you would give Schokkaert these details, and draw upon the

following as required.

3

The response

hope to hear soon

the

from other

responses

partners is at best mixed.

of Denmark and Luxembourg,

that they can

We and

believe that the both may take some refugees. Greece, Italy,

Spain and Portugal have said

none. take

France

i s to decide soon on s ome family reunion cases, and Hong Kong is investigating with UNHCR the

the suggestion in Paris

Paris Telno 217 the possibility of providing intensive French language training for prospective candidates

response

Ireland's refugees

is caught up in

a

for resettlement.

review global

of Irish

rests with

that competence the Länder; we a re considering

for

policy; we expect an answer after Easter. Finally, approaches to FRG

complicated by the fact accepting refugees how to tackle this.

4.

are

SO

to

I fear that

far only

and the UK

Dutch responses Hong Kong's refugees problem may be useful ammunition for you. Outside the EC, the Nordic countries show signs of responding favourably; apart from the Finn's

refugees acceptance of 70 mentioned in UKMIS Geneva's TUR (Finland's allocation for Hong Kong is,

and 80),

that we understand Norway may offer 100 places and that Sweden will offer "a small

we

believe, between

50

146