TNAG-1790-FCO40-2550-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-third-countri-1988 — Page 33

Liberalisation

4

8.

Some Members have commented on the liberalisation

programme for the closed camps. I can assure Members that

this programme is being planned systematically and implemented

cautiously. The working groups have been established and are

proving useful. I think many of the fears of local residents

were based on a misunderstanding of the plans and I hope that,

through the participation of district board members, many of

these concerns can be allayed. There will, of course, be some

problems but that with patience and understanding these can be

overcome.

International Conference

The proposal that we should have a four point plan

covering an increase in resettlement quota, an expanded

9.

In

Orderly Departure Programme, repatriation and the resettlement

of long stayers, covers most of the main elements of the

comprehensive solution which we are seeking, and for which

international co-operation is an essential ingredient.

Hong Kong screening will remain an important basis of any

comprehensive arrangements. All these issues are now being

addressed in the multilateral discussions leading towards the

international conference. We are participating fully in these

meetings, the next of which will be in Kuala Lumpur in

December.