TNAG-1802-FCO40-2562-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 198

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CONFIDENTIAL

FROM: Foreign and Home Secretaries

TO:

Prime Minister

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG: RESETTLEMENT

1. The Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary wrote to Mr

Powell on 17 October about the outcome of the second round of talks

with the Vietnamese authorities on the return of Vietnamese boat

people in Hong Kong. We have taken the first important step towards

achieving our objective of the return of all boat people who do

not qualify to be treated as refugees. We must now focus on those who do qualify. The beginning of the repatriation exercise will

reinforce the deterrent effect of our new policies and reduce further the rate of illegal departures for Hong Kong. The latest

figures are encouraging and show very few arrivals since

mid-September: a much greater reduction than the normal seasonal

is now! decline at this time of year. There can be hope, therefore, that

the problem is becoming finite.

2.

There are now some 25,000 boat people in Hong Kong. Of those 9,500 arrived after the introduction of screening on 16 June and initial results indicate that few will qualify to be treated as

refugees: their future lies in Vietnam. The rest, some 15,500, arrived before the introduction of screening and await resettlement

as refugees. It is the largest population of boat people in the

region. Screening will mean that very few indeed are added to their

number. But the current rate of reduction through resettlement (2,500 in the past 12 months) is unacceptably slow Even if that

(which is boy to rams certan) level of commitment is sustained it will take a further 6 years

before all 15,500 have been resettled. And Over time governments

who do not have our own direct responsibility for Hong Kong will tend to let the territory's needs slip down their list of priorities.

3.

(when the wonders i) kont people in Hom, Kong

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a third Jc hat it is nors)

In May 1987/the Home Secretary announced a commitment to resettle 468 named refugees from Hong Kong over 2 years, at a rate of about 20 per month. Since then the number of boat people in the

CONFIDENTIAL