HC Deb 11 June 1979 vol 968 cc91-3W
Mr. Parry

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will publish in the Official Report from international sources available to him a list of the countries which have accepted Vietnamese refugees, and the numbers accepted to the latest available date.

Mr. Blaker

According to the most recent figures available from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees the number of Indo-China refugees accepted for resettlement by foreign and Commonwealth countries shown as at 1 May 1979 is as follows—separate figures for Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians are not available:

Country Number accepted (rounded)
China 230,000
Taiwan 1,000*
USA 217,000
France 48,800
Australia 19,500
Canada 14,400
Germany 3,500
Malaysia 1,600
Switzerland 1,500
Belgium 1,300
Norway 900
New Zealand 800
Denmark 600
Netherlands 380
Austria 340
Italy 250
Israel 170
Japan 50
Luxembourg 30
Others 700
Total 540,620
* Estimate.

The United Kingdom has accepted for settlement 1,537 Vietnamese.

The UNHCR gives the number of Vietnamese refugees in temporary asylum in the countries shown as at 1 May as follows:

Country Number accepted (rounded)
Thailand 3,100
Malaysia 54,100
Indonesia 11,700
Macau 1,800
Philippines 1,600
Japan 400
Singapore 300
Other countries 100
Total 73,100

The total number of refugees in Thailand on 1 May, according to the same source, was 149,126. This includes 146,000 refugees from Cambodia and Laos.

Hong Kong has admitted 9,200 former residents of Vietnam for permanent resettlement since 1975, and on 5 June there were a further 44,690 Vietnamese refugees in the territory pending resettlement elsewhere.