布政司署
香港下亞厘畢道
本署檔號 Our Rer.: CR 2/4821/79
Your Ref.:
Mr. A. Rasanayagam
Charge de Mission
UNHCR Office
Hong Kong
585
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
24th April, 1979
HKK 243/1
RECETER
CHOLS NO. 5
APP 1070
Jun
When you called on the Political Adviser on 19th April and expressed the hope that the refugees aboard the "Skyluck" could soon be allowed ashore, you also indicated that you would like to reserve accommodation for the se refugees as more work is completed in Jubilee Buildings.
2.
I appreciate your personal concern for the se refugees and I can assure you that, pending a decision on landing, the Hong Kong Government will continue to provide food and medical attention to the refugees and keep the physical condition and safety of those on board the ship under close observation. However, as Dr. Wilson told you, no decision to land the ship can yet be taken. We cannot treat this ship and its refugees in isolation. The refugees from one large organized refugee ship, the "Huey Fong", have already been handed over to your care. Almost all of them have still to be resettled overseas. For the "Skyluck" refugees to be allowed ashore would only further encourage those trafficking in refugees to direct large ships to Hong Kong.
We have received reports which show that, despite the assurances given to Mr. de Haan during his recent visit to Hanoi, Vietnamese official involvement in the current exodus continues.
3.
Meanwhile, of the 20, 220 refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong today, only 5, 982 are accommodated by your office. We are anxious to transfer the remainder to your care as quickly as possible in order to expedite resettlement processing and reduce the very unfavourable imbalance between the arrival (17, 586) and departure (2, 840) figures since 1st January.
4. There is already a substantial backlog of refugees who arrived before the "Skyluck", whose questioning by Immigration and (where appropriate) Police officials is complete and who are ready to be moved out of Government accommodation and become the responsibility of UNHCR. We have already advised you that there is no objection to you or Consular representatives visiting refugees now in Government accommodation for processing work pending UNHCR accommodation becoming available. Thus we expect any
such accommodation which becomes available in Jubilee Buildings or elsewhere to be used immediately for these refugees.
/5.