Mr Burns
SEAD
CONFIDENTIAL
NICK 243/2
RACEIVED IN KE SELU 1.7.
1 1 NOV 1980
DEVE OFFICER
INDEX
cc: PSJLPS
PS]Mr Blaker
Sir E Youde
Mr Donald
Mr Clift, HKJD
UND*
NAD
ти
Mr. Womu
2
་་
Mr. Will. fo...
Vietnamese Refugees
PA
Action Taken
Aw
The Secretary of State has seen your Submission of 30 October, to which you attached a draft minute to the Home Secretary proposing a new quota of 5,000 Vietnamese refugees to be taken from Hong Kong.
Lord Carrington discussed this subject with the Governor of Hong Kong on 5 November. As Mr Clift has recorded separately, Lord Carrington thought that it would be very difficult in the present climate to persuade his colleagues to accept a further 5,000 Vietnamese refugees: but agreed with the Governor on the need to obtain a formula which would allow us to say that the programme was continuing. Lord Carrington then spoke in support of a new quota to the Home Secretary, in advance of Mr Whitelaw's meeting on 6 November with Sir Murray MacLehose. I understand from Mr Clift that the upshot of the meeting be- tween the Home Secretary and the Governor was that Mr Whitelaw would write to Lord Carrington about the possibility of a joint paper on Vietnamese fefugees, to be put to Cabinet colleagues perhaps early in the New Year.
The draft minute from the Secretary of State to the Home Secretary has thus been overtaken.
7 November 1980
RMJ Lyne
(R M J Lyne)
Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL