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CONFIDENTIAL.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 50
15 MAY 1975.
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CONFIDENTIAL.
TO PRIORITY FCO TELNO.1711 OF 14 MAY 1975, INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, OTTAWA, STOCKHOLM, COPENHAGEN, PEKING, MANILA, SINGAPORE (FOR SAIGON UNIT), CANBERRA AND WELLINGTON.
YOUR TELNO.1060: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.
1. WE SPOKE AS INSTRUCTED TODAY TO WISNER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE US INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE FOR VIETNAMESE REFUGEES, AND ANTIPPAS, THE TASK FORCE OFFICIAL DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR CO-ORDINATION WITH THE US CONSULATE-GENERAL, HONG KONG, ON REFUGEES,
2. WISNER SAID THAT THE US ADMINISTRATION WERE WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEMS FACING HONG KONG AS A RESULT OF THE RECENT INFLUX OF REFUGEES. THEY WERE GRATEFUL TO THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT FOR THE SYMPATHETIC AND EFFICIENT WAY IN WHICH THEY WERE BEING DEALT WITH. AT THE SAME TIME, AND AS WE WERE AWARE (PARAGRAPH 1(E) OF YOUR TUR), THE US WAS FACING SERIOUS DIFFICULTIES IN COPING WITH THE LARGE NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES SEEKING A HOME HERE. THE MAIN IMMEDIATE PROBLEM WAS CONGESTION IN GUAM AS A RESULT OF DELAYS IN PROCESSING AND TRANSPORTING REFUGEES FROM THE ISLAND INTO THE UNITED STATES. THERE WERE ALSO THE POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES WHICH HAD BEEN PROMINENTLY REPORTED IN THE PRESS (EG, OPPOSITION IN SOME STATES TO A LARGE INFLUX OF VIETNAMESE, THE UNCERTAINTIES ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WHICH CONGRESS WOULD VOTE TO FINANCE RESETTLEMENT, ETC.).
3.
THE US WERE, NEVERTHELESS, READY TO ACCEPT ANY VIETNAMESE NOW IN HONG KONG WHO WERE:
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RELATED TO US CITIZENS, OR IMMEDIATE RELATIONS OF ANY VIETNAMESE ALREADY BROUGHT TO, OR EN ROUTE TO, THE
UNITED STATES BY US MEANS (EG, US NAVAL AND CIVILIAN SHIPS OR US CIVIL AND MILITARY AIRCRAFT):
EMPLOYEES OF THE US GOVERNMENT OR THEIR RELATIVES.
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