CONFIDENTIAL
available for the meeting would be devoted to the numerically greater problem of refugees in camps in Thailand and elsewhere. We doubted, therefore, whether there would be sufficient time to discuss the "boat refugee" problem in the detail it deserved.
3. I gave the visitors details of the measures the UK has already taken to alleviate the refugee problem in the area and also pointed out Hong Kong's almost intolerable burden in respect of over 4,000 refugees there who have very little prospect of early resettlement: they seemed unaware of the difficulties we faced in this respect.
30 November 1978
марлин
MK O Simpson-Orlebar UN Department
Сс
Mr D Murray
SEAD
HK&GD
FED
News Dept
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