TNAG-1801-FCO40-2561-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 19

CONFIDENTIAL

But

4. The new policy has been well received in Hong Kong. the Governor stressed to me that people there remain very concerned about the number of refugees already in Hong Kong as well as about the continuing high rate of arrivals in the territory: they are looking to the United Kingdom to give a strong lead to international resettlement efforts. It was essential that we respond adequately to these expectations. The Governor welcomed the news that we would be proposing an additional commitment to accept 1,000 refugees. But he strongly advised us to reconsider the rate at which they would be taken in. He suggested a resettlement rate of 40 per month (ie a commitment covering a period of about 2% years). This is the rate at which we resettled refugees from Hong Kong under our previous commitment (when the refugee problem in Hong Kong was much less acute). It is also the rate which the voluntary agencies have publicly said they could cope with. It would enable us to tell Hong Kong and the international community that we would double our present intake of refugees. This would enhance the impact of our offer and increase the likelihood of a generous response from others. A slower rate of intake might well be seen as an inadequate response to the (now more or less finite) number of inmates needing to be cleared and in the Governor's view could undermine the impact of the offer.

5.

After careful reflection, I therefore think that we should look at a 2 year timescale. I am well aware of the burden that resettlement imposes on our facilities. But I believe that the difficulties could be reduced if we were to give a high priority to taking refugees with linguistic and other skills and whose ability to adapt to life in this country is correspondingly greater. The Governor assured me

CONFIDENTIAL