GR 958
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTAL
HKK 243/1
(608)
FM HONG KONG 021013Z MAY 79
TO IMMEDIATE UKMIS GENEVA
TELEGRAM NUMBER 9 OF 2 MAY
INFO IMMEDIATE F CO
INFO PRIORITY WASHINGTON
TOP COPY
INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
569
YOUR LETTER OF 28 APRIL (NOT COPIED TO WASHINGTON): VIETNAMESE REFUGEES REACHING HONG KONG VIA CHINA,
1. WHEN WE SPOKE BY TELEPHONE ON 26 APRIL, I ASKED YOU TO TELL MR HARTLING THAT WE COULD NOT ACCEPT HIS PROPOSAL THAT
F
606
see (Gog
626
A. HIS OFFICE IN HONG KONG SHOULD ONLY ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR FAMILY REUNIFICATION CASES WHERE REFUGEES HAD SPENT ANY TIME (OFTER EXTREMELY SHORT) IN CHINA ON THEIR WAY FROM VIETNAM TO
HONG KONG: AND
B, THE REMAINDER TO BE ABSORBED'' HERE.
I ALSO ASKED YOU TO SAY THAT I WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR HIS EARLY DECISION THAT ALL REFUGEES IN THIS CATEGORY BE ACCEPTED AND
PROCESSED FOR EVENTUAL RESETTLEMENT OVERSEAS. BUT NOTHING
APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED.
2. NOW THAT I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LETTER RECORDING YOUR MEETING WITH HARTLING ON 19 APRIL, I AM DISTURBED TO SEE IN IT SIGNS OF HIS FAILURE TO GRASP THAT A MAJOR CRISIS HAS ARISEN IN THE
UNHCR PROGRAMME HERE WHICH REQUIRES HIS URGENT ATTENTION, HIS
REMARKS TO YOU INCLUDED SYMPTOMATIC ERRORS OF DETAIL: REFUGEES AT PRESENT ALLOWED TO WORK HERE ARE NOT, AS HE SAID, IN ''DETENTION CAMPS'' (YOUR PARA 3) BUT THOSE IN UNHCR CAMPS (WE MAY BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN THIS IF NUMBERS BUILD UP AND IF REFUGEES
ARE SEEN AS AN ECONOMIC THREAT BY LOCAL RESIDENTS): AND RE- SETTLEMENT FROM HONG KONG HAS AVERAGED 724 A MONTH FROM JANUARY TO APRIL 1979, NOT 1,000 (YOUR PARA 2,)
3. THE ESSENCE OF THE CRISIS IS THAT:-
A. WITH NEARLY 24,000 REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM HERE (AND 978 ARRIVED
YESTERDAY), HIS OFFICE HAS SO FAR ONLY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY
FOR 6,000.
CONFIDENTAL
/B. LOCAL