TNAG-1525-FCO40-2089-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1986 — Page 24

GINABU (2)

CONFIDENTIAL

MEETING OF BRITISH AND FRENCH CO-ORDINATORS, 9 MAY

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

ESSENTIAL FACTS

GENERAL

1.

8,700 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting

resettlement; the largest number of any place of first asylum in South East Asia. They are spending increasingly

long periods in Hong Kong because of diminishing

prospects: 638 have been there more than 3

resettlement

years.

RECENT ACTION BY HMG

2.

The Government announced in September:

(i) that HMG will accept for resettlement some 500 refugees, mostly from Hong Kong, who have relatives in the UK but who would normally

fall outside the Home Office's criteria for

family reunion cases;

to

(ii) that, depending on the willingness shown by

other resettlement countries to respond to

Hong Kong's needs, HMG are consider accepting further limited numbers

from Hong Kong.

would also be prepared to

prepared

The Hong

Hong Kong

Kong Government

numbers from the camps.

absorb limited

(Hong Kong has

agreed to absorb up to 250 more refugees.)

CONFIDENTIAL