TNAG-1525-FCO40-2089-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1986 — Page 76

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(b) it should be granted to those who have waited

longest for resettlement, ie: those in open centres. I should be grateful for an early response to this

At paragraph (5) of the paper it is pointed out that a few cases are rejected where relatives have become Hong Kong citizens and are no longer refugees. At paragraph (6) it is pointed out that some cases are deleted/delayed when relatives have recently left Hong Kong for resettlement elsewhere or if they cannot be found. As I explained to you, the former case is rare, whereas in our experience the latter situation occurs much more frequently. The reason, once again, is because we are working from different lists.

At paragraph (8) of the paper it says that a flight can presumably " within be expected 6 weeks after the call forward. Because we are

working to monthly departures (and this has been agreed between HMG and the Hong Kong Government), I find it difficult to understand why such a delay should be anticipated. We are required to ask ICM to make the travel arrangements within the calendar month concerned. The actual departure takes place a matter of weeks (usually no more than two) after the call forward has been received from the Home Office.

As regards the second paper on Resettlement from Reception Centre: Hong Kong Cases, this seems to deal more with additional staffing for Refugee Action. However, there are a few points on which I would like to comment.

In the bottom half of the second page it is stated that information about changes in the family size in Hong Kong is obtained after the housing worker has arranged for the family to be called forward from Hong Kong (I presume that the term called forward is used incorrectly here). Again, this arises from the different lists from which we are working. This problem would be removed if you worked from the up-to-date and accurate information which we can supply. It is also pointed out in the same paragraph that the refugees in Hong Kong may not be aware that they will be accepted for resettlement in the UK. Again, the simple reason for this is that Refugee Action is acting on its own.

Were you to work from the lists supplied by us in Hong Kong, the refugees would be aware; their relatives in the UK would know of their up-to-date family circumstances; Refugee Action would be able to begin its work based on accurate information; and time, effort and presumably money would no longer be wasted.

At the top of the third page of this paper, it is stated that it is extremely important to take the wishes of the new arrival into consideration, even if it involves starting afresh with housing negotiations. This we feel is dangerous if it means that other refugees who are awaiting resettlement from Hong Kong are forced to wait longer. It is of course important that refugees should be adequately housed but it seems to us that this should not be done at the expense of others waiting in Hong Kong.

/Regarding