TNAG-1535-FCO40-2099-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1986 — Page 39

THIS IS A COPY THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED UNDER FOI EXEMPTION NO... 27(1)

DSR 11C

CONFIDENTIAL

resettling all outflows;

(iii) it would provide some prospect, at present lacking,

of a solution to the problem posed by the

increasing number of people now in places of first

refuge who are unqualified for resettlement for

whatever reason;

(iv) it should ultimately enable places of first asylum

Le

to terminate their policies of humane deterrents.

enable

In particular it would the Hong Kong Government to

abolish the closed centres, which have been the

target of criticism by some civil rights

organisations.

(v) it would halt HMG's expenditure of political

capital in pressing resettlement countries to renew

offers of and disregard usual criteria for resettle-

ment places;

(vi) it would bring Hong Kong's treatment of Vietnamese

illegal entrants into line with treatment of

Chinese illegal entrants; and

(vii) it would remove a possible source of trouble with

China in the run-up to the transfer of power in

Hong Kong in 1997.

11.

There would be certain limiting factors in the

formulation of such a policy:

CONFIDENTIAL

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