TNAG-1802-FCO40-2562-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 31

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Government and in international fora.

These efforts are

already bearing fruit. We should soon see the return to

Vietnam, under arrangements made by UNHCR, of a first group

of volunteers. We shall continue our efforts to secure the

return to Vietnam of those not qualified to be considered as

refugees.

Where resettlement is concerned, we have reviewed our

commitment in the light of recent developments. As you will

know, the British Government announced on 22 December that we

are prepared in principle to take a further 1,000 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong over 2-3 years, provided that others

are prepared to contribute commensurately. I enclose the text of Mr. Eggar's statement to the House of Commons, setting out our intentions. Once the necessary conditions

are met, our new resettlement programme could be introduced

with immediate effect and the rate of resettlement increased

from 20 to 40 per month.

You refer in your letter to our acceptance of people from Vietnam under the Orderly Departure Programme. Those who came here under this programme are entitled to do so

under the normal family reunion criteria in the Immigration Rules. These are precisely the people who might otherwise resort to clandestine departures from Vietnam to join their

families, thereby exacerbating the problem of boat people arrivals in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the region.

There are no easy solutions to this problem. It will take time and patience. But I hope this letter will reassure you that we will continue in the future, as we have in the

past, to give Hong Kong effective support in tackling it.

New Year

Делкойно Best wishes for the

Your suicerely

Mangant Thauten

The Hon. Lydia Dunn, C.B.E.

джин