BACKGROUND
General
1.
The increase has
There are now about 25,000 Vietnamese boat people in camps in Hong Kong, compared with about 9,000 a year ago. placed an enormous burden on the Hong Kong Government.
New Policy
16 June
2. The Hong Kong Government introduced a new policy on involving screening on arrival to distinguish genuine refugees from those who have left Vietnam simply in search of a better life. 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. Initial views reached on about 500, none of whom appear to merit refugee status.
Talks with Vietnam
We
3. A first round of talks between British and Hong Kong officials and the Vietnamese took place at the invitation of the Vietnamese on 3-4 August. They ended inconclusively. The Vietnamese insisted on voluntary returns, and reintegration assistance for returnees. pressed for effective measures to stop departures and the return of all who are not refugees. A second round of talks will be held in
London on 11-12 October.
EC Demarche in Hanoi
4. A joint EC Demarch was made by the French representative in Hanoi on 13 September. It called upon Vietnam to take effective and realistic measures to solve the problem of the boat people and referred to the internationally accepted right of return to one's own country free from fear or danger. The text of the demarche was only agreed after lengthy negotiations. The French and Germans were particularly concerned about our proposed references to compulsory
returns.
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