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the region, Hong Kong could not push the refugees on to somewhere
else. As regards the traffic in refugees, criminal charges were
being brought against those whose involvement could be proved.
This was being done under recently enacted legislation, of which
there was no equivalent in the United Kingdom or the United
States. Mr Blaker said that the impression in the United States
was that Hong Kong people were fairly deeply involved Mr Christopher
had raised this during their conversation on 29 May.
This was
something that could be cleared up during the Governor's visit to
Washington.
4.
Mr Blaker said that he would be seeing the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees on 18 June. It was difficult to see
how the proposed conference on refugees could be arranged so that
positive results were achieved; particularly as the Americans
appeared to be lukewarm about the idea. The Governor suggested
that the problem had two separate aspects. The first, which was
a diplomatic task, was to persuade countries, particularly ASEAN
and the non-aligned states, to put pressure on the Vietnamese
authorities to stop exporting people. The second was to hold a
conference to try and persuade the United States, and as many
other countries as possible, to commit themselves to a steady
programme of accepting the refugees for resettlement. Hong Kong
was now having to accommodate refugees in flatted factories and
clearly they could not live there for five years or more.
Mr Blaker said that more publicity about the plight and experi-
ences of these people would be helpful. The Governor said that
the Hong Kong Government would be willing to pay for journalists,
/4 particularly