L
camps are run by the Hong Kong
Government with the
er
the United Nations High Commission for
as humane a manner as
assistance of
Refugees and voluntary agencies such as the Save the
Children Fund. Every effort is made to run the camps in
is possible in the circumstances.
Collingwood's figure of 12,000 represents the total
refugee population in Hong Kong in 1982, when the "closed
camp policy" was introduced for new arrivals in order to
discourage Vietnamese from setting out for Hong Kong at a
time when the territory's refugee population was
Mr
increasing rapidly. Once the outflow from Vietnam has
effectively ceased, we shall be able to discontinue a
policy which we
intended to be
circumstances.
a
the Hong Kong Government have always
temporary response to very difficult
Mr Collingwood mentions Australia and New Zealand as
countries which might resettle more Vietnamese refugees
It is of course for those countries themselves to speak
about their policies towards refugees and what they have
already done, but I think I may say that both have been
very
over generous
а number
resettlement places
in
of years
providing
Vietnamese refugees. Following
the United Kingdom
our decision last year to accept in
some 500 further Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong, we
again urged both these countries, and some 20 others, to
take more refugees from Hong Kong. I am glad to be able
to tell you that Australia has accepted over 400
Vietnamese from Hong Kong this year, and New Zealand 21.
Our approaches have, in fact,
produced
some 1,000 new
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