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Hanoi has formally raised with the Vietnamese authorities the question of the return of refugees from Hong Kong under acceptable conditions.
You ask whether Britain could increase its intake of
refugees from Hong Kong by accepting refugees who have no family ties with this country or who turned down earlier offers of resettlement here. While I deeply sympathise with those refugees who have been in camps for a considerable time, I have to say that our resettlement commitments have been extended as far as possible at present. We must take into full account our capacity to absorb new arrivals and to assist their integration into British society. Given the difficulties which Vietnamese arrivals have experienced in settling in the United Kingdom, even when they have come to join family members, I do not believe that it would be sensible at this stage to widen our criteria for acceptance.
I know that this will disappoint some people in Hong Kong. But I can assure you that the British Government will
continue to do all that is feasible to help Hong Kong cope
with its problem.
Ms. Rita Fa
You
Ours sincerely
༡་་ཨ་མ་
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