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16.
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but the Policy Group noted that, if confirmed the action would make it impossible for the ship to be cleared to sail once it had entered Hong Kong waters. However it did not affect the situation while the "Huey Fonc" was on the high seas.
7th January, 1979
A letter in French signed by a "Delegate of the Refugees on Board the Huey Fong" was delivered to the UNHCR representative in Hong Kong. The letter said that to leave for Taiwan would increase the refugees' suffering. It plead for those on board to be allowed to disembark in Hong Kong. A copy of the translation of this letter is at Appendix 4.
17.
8th January, 1979
No developments.
18.
9th January, 1979
19.
The U.S. Consulate General reported that their Embassy in Taipeh had tried to obtain a clear statement of Taiwanese policy. They were told that the remarks referred to in para. 12 above were made at an unofficial gathering and had not been intended for publication. The U.S. Embossy's assessment of what would happen if the "Huey Fong" sailed to Kachsing was given in the following terms:
"The Government here would be forced to decide whether or not to change its refugee policy. Were present policy to prevail, the Government of Taiwan would permit the landing for temporary shelter of Indo-Chinese refugees of Chinese origin. However, there is no guarantee that present policy would not be changed."
10th January, 1979
Three items of legislation were introduced, to take immediate effect, in order to discourage ships such as the "Huey Fong" from entering Hong Kong with refugees aboard when Hong Kong was not the first port of call. The logislation gave the Government additional powers to act against owners, masters and ships involved. The three items introduced were:-
(a) The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill 1979, clause 1
of which increased the sanction of imprisonment attached to a breach of Section 34 of the Ordinance from six months to four years. Under this section it became an offence for a vessel to have on board passengers in excess of the number permitted by the passenger certificate
Clause 2 or excess passengers on an uncertified ship. introduced two rebuttal presumptions to facilitate prosecution. Persons on board a vessel, other than crew members and infants under the age of one, would be presumed to be passengers and a ship with more than twelve passengers on board would be presumed to be a passenger ship.
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