TNAG-1801-FCO40-2561-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 25

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CONFIDENTIAL

HKD 243/12

REGISTA

19 JUL 1988

HOME SECRETARY

OFFICER

PA

IBTHY

13 T

ps) Mr Eggar

Mr Grill More

Mr Colin SCAD

Mr Willians UND

18/7

N817

Mr Foorman

The ball is now

in the Home Nlice cout

buk

we must

quickly

Vietnamese Boat People in Hong Kong

follow up

With

1. At our meeting on 22 June I left with you a piece of paper setting out a proposal for a new resettlement commitment by the UK to take in 1,000 Vietnamese refugees in various categories over 3 years. You kindly undertook to consider this.

2.

We also agreed that my officials would do some further work, with a view to strengthening the case for a new commitment. In particular we would try to assess the deterrent effect of Hong Kong's new palicy; and we would elaborate on why we thought that a new commitment of 1,000 would be sufficient to generate a significant response from others. We also subsequently undertook to find out more about measures being taken in the camps to equip candidates

for resettlement for a new life in the West.

3. Hong Kong's new policy has been in force for one month. Since its introduction, the rate of arrivals has continued at a very high rate: about 4,000 more boat people have landed in Hong Kong since 16 June. This is disappointing, but not unexpected. Many of these arrivals will have set off before the new policy was announced or before the news filtered through; and rumours of the imminent introduction

of a tougher policy may have prompted a surge of departures in an attempt to get in before the change. I must therefore

er.

CONFIDENTIAL