CONFIDENTIAL
References
A Canberra telno 740 of 12 September Repatriation of Vietnamese
refugees from Hong Kong.
B Article from 'The Australian' 1 September 88 "Disgust as UK
breaches refugees' human rights".
C
Advertisements from 'The Australian' and 'The Sydney Morning
Herald' 2 September 1988.
Background
GENERAL
1.
There are now about 25,000 Vietnamese boat people in camps in
Hong Kong, compared with about 8,000 a year ago. The increase has
placed an enormous burden on the Hong Kong Government.
New Policy Australian Reaction
2.
-
The Hong Kong Government introduced a new policy on 16 June. It involves a system of screening on arrival, based on internationally recognised criteria, to distinguish genuine refugees from those who have left Vietnam simply in search of a better life. Those few who can show that they are genuine refugees will be accommodated in Hong Kong to await resettlement. The rest will be detained as illegal immigrants pending their return to Vietnam as soon as acceptable
conditions for this are established. So far the Hong Kong
Government have interviewed about 1,000 post 16 June arrivals.
initial view has been taken on about half of these. None have been found to merit refugee status, but no decisions have been made known
to those screened or to the public.
An
3. The Australian Government has been supportive of the new policy. The Australians have for some time recognised the changing nature of arrivals in Hong Kong and have been the main proponents of screening in the Intergovernmental Consultative Group on Indo-Chinese Refugees
CONFIDENTIAL
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