TNAG-1839-FCO40-2614-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 30

and their reintegration into Vietnam.

In December, the

UNHCR and the Vietnamese authorities concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on the principles and procedures for voluntary repatriation to Vietnam. The UNHCR is taking charge of practical arrangements for the return of those who have expressed a wish to return to Vietnam.

48

•

These 1,000

In December 1988, the Government announced that it was prepared in principle to accept for resettlement an additional 1,000 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong over the next 2-3 years, provided that other Governments were prepared to contribute commensurately.

refugees would include relatives of Vietnamese already here and others with the potential to quickly become self-sufficient in the United Kingdom, together with some who have been in the camps for a long time and have not

yet been accepted elsewhere. The Government have

launched an intensive diplomatic campaign to persuade other resettlement countries to respond to this

initiative. A major international effort is now required to resettle the 15,000 boat people in Hong Kong who have refugee status.

(1:

Emigration

.9 Emigration, particularly of skilled people and rofessionals, is a matter of genuine concern in Hong

ong. It is a matter which the Government are monitoring ith very close attention.

The Hong Kong Government

?

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