SPEAKING NOTE
With HKK 243/1 (8
(858)
1. The flood of refugees from Vietnam, especially to Hong Kong, has saturated all available accommodation. Established principles concerning the rescue of life at sea are increasingly being put into question. It is no exaggeration to say that people are currently arriving at Hong Kong at a rate of over one thousand a day. An improvement in conditions in Vietnam
could not alleviate the crisis which already exists but is
essential if matters are not to get even worse. If this does not happen there will be serious implications for stability in South East Asia, quite apart from the humanitarian question of the misery which is being caused to the individuals concerned.
2. It would be understandable if some people wished to leave Vietnam following the change in regime there. But this can We have hardly apply to the numbers which are now leaving. heard that there are over one million ethnic Chinese in Vietnam whom the Vietnamese authorities intend to expel. If the Vietnamese persist in this, a major crisis will be unavoidable. I am not saying that people should be prevented from leaving Vietnam or any other country for that matter, but that they should not be forced to leave and that the departure of those who want to go should be organised in an orderly and humane manner. Proper arrangements must be made to receive and accommodate them. At present many of those who leave are losing their lives at sea. Others arrive at some port, only to be turned back because there is nowhere for them to go. A pause is now needed for the world to absorb those who have already
Left.
3. The United Kingdom for its part has accepted a number of refugees. We have made strong representations to Vietnam, but so far without effect. We have also spoken to the Soviet Union. I am now asking your Government to use its undoubted
/influence
CONFIDENTIAL