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FM FCO 281045Z
CONFIDENTIAL
TO IMMEDIATE UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 189 OF 28 MAY.
FOLLOWING TELEGRAM NOW REPEATED TO YOU AT REQUEST OF DEPARTMENT WAS RECEIVED FROM HONG KONG TELNO 506 OF 21 MAY INFO IMMEDIATE CANBERRA PEKING ROUTINE SINGAPORE (SAIGON UNIT) AND UKMIS NEW YORK.
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YOUR TELEGRAM NO 403: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.
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SUBJECT TO PEKING'S VIEWS I THINK THE CHINESE ARE LIKELY TO TAKE A PRAGMATIC VIEW. SITUATION WOULD ONLY BE DANGEROUS IF ANY U.N. OPERATIONS RELATING TO HONG KONG APPEARED TO CHALLENGE THEIR PUBLIC POSITION ON THE STATUS OF HONG KONG 1.E. THAT IT IS PART OF CHINESE TERRITORY TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES.
2. IN PRACTICE, IF UNHCR OFFICIALS WERE SEEN TO OPERATE FROM A BASE IN HONG KONG, CHINESE MIGHT WELL FEAR THAT THE U N H C R MIGHT RE-ESTABLISH A PERMANENT FOOTHOLD AND TURN HIS ATTENTION TO CHINESE AS WELL AS VIETNAMESE REFUGEES. THERE WAS A RUMOUR, WHICH HAS NOT MATERIALISED, THAT THE HIGH COMMISSIONER HIMSELF MIGHT BE
COMING TO HONG KONG.
3. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THE UNHCR WERE TO OPERATE THROUGH I CEM, WHICH HAS BEEN KEEPING A WATCHING BRIEF FOR THEM SINCE THEY WITHDREW THEIR HONG KONG OFFICE IN 1972, THEN THE RISK OF
CHINESE DISAPPROVAL WOULD PROBABLY BE SLIGHT.
4. IT MIGHT WELL BE THAT UNHCR (OR I CEM ON HIS BEHALF) COULD EVENTUALLY HELP OVER DISPOSAL OF THE HARD CORE WE CANNOT RESETTLE THROUGH BILATERAL CHANNELS BY PROVIDING POLITICAL COVER FOR OTHERWISE RELUCTANT HOST GOVERNMENTS. BUT THE SEASON OF CLIMATIC DISASTERS HERE IS NOW BEGINNING, AND WE MAY SOON HAVE
OTHER EMERGENCIES TO DEAL WITH. SO WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO WHAT MULTILATERAL ARRANGEMENTS (OR EVEN VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION TO VIETNAM) MAY EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE, OUR PRESENT INCLINATION IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS AS FAR AND AS FAST AS
POSSIBLE BY THE METHODS NOW BEING USED.
CALLAGHAN
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