17864
CONFIDENTIAL
Your ref: IMG/70 58/1026/199
G L Angel Esq Home Office
Lunar House Wellesley Road
CROYDON CR9 2BY
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1819
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
31 October 1979
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RELATION
1983.51
3 1 OCT 1979
DI INDER
TRY
1759
1. I am sorry not to have replied earlier to your letter of 18 October about the suggestion in Hong Kong telegram No 1400 that the UK might be prepared to give a guarantee of ultimate resettlement should a Korean vessel with refugees on board arrive in Hong Kong.
2
I quite see the difficulties that such a proposal creates for you.
At the same time, I can also understand the difficult situation Hong Kong would be in. I suggest, however, that we should not try to resolve the dilemma now, but should wait until a case actually arises. Much will depend on the number of refugees involved, how many are already in Hong Kong at the time, and what rate of resettlement is being achieved, etc.
3. You will be aware that in the case of the Bermuda-registered m.v. "T G Shaughnessy", the Hong Kong Government agreed to our telling the Korean Government, in the event of their reverting to the question of Hong Kong policy, that "if a Korean-registered vessel were to arrive in Hong Kong (as its first port of call) with refugees on board, the Hong Kong Government would consider the case on its merits in the light of circumstances prevailing at the time". In fact the Korean Government did not revert to the question of Hong Kong policy and the statement was not there- fore used.
R J T McLaren
Hong Kong and General Department
CONELDENDIAL