VIETNAMESE ON BOARD THE 'AVA'
The Burmese Foreign Ministry informed HM Ambassador, Rangoon, last week that the Master of a Burmese-registered ship, the 'Ava', had picked up 98 passengers from a sinking vessel about 200 miles south east of Saigon and had made for Hong Kong, its next port of destination where it was due to unload cargo. The 'Ava' arrived off Hong Kong on 7 July when it was discovered that the passengers 26 men, 24 women and 48 children Vietnamese; and that a child had meanwhile been born to one of the
women on board.
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Last year, the Hong Kong authorities accepted over 4,000 refugees from the war in Vietnam while arrangements were made for their permanent settlement both elsewhere and in Hong Kong. Since then the Hong Kong authorities have also permitted over 4,000 Vietnamese, who made their way there illegally, to settle permanently in Hong Kong. This was done with great reluctance .` because of the further strain placed on Hong Kong's essential
services and it would be very difficult for the authorities there to accept any more, particularly having regard to Hong Kong's own particular immigration problems.
It is well known that since late 1974 the Hong Kong authorities have been obliged to return illegal immigrants to China because of the intolerable strain they were creating on essential services. Hong Kong has also been faced with very considerable problems over illegal immigrants from elsewhere in the region besides Vietnam. The Hong Kong authorities, with HMG's concurrence, have therefore concluded that they cannot admit the Vietnamese on the 'Ava'.
The Hong Kong authorities have suggested to the Burmese Consul-General in Hong Kong that a passible solution to the problem might lie in seeking the cooperation of the appropriate /international