Akt 243.
23 DEC 1981
DESK OFFICER
CONFIDENTIAL
Af 23/12/
124
Lightly Seal
PS/LPS
Mr. William
118
19
Α
A
B
118
Mr noyiL-.
NO
HONG KONG : VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
Problem
1.
Enter a par
221
201
What to do about the estimated 8,000 Vietnamese refugees who
may still be in Hong Kong at the beginning of the next financial
year.
Recommendation
2. I recommend that you reply to Sir Philip Haddon-Cave's letter
of 2 December on the lines of the attached draft and that you show
SEAD agree. this submission with Sir Philip's letter to the Lord Privy Seal. /
Background and Argument
3. There are about 13,000 Vietnamese refugees still in camps in
Hong Kong. Resettlement has been very slow in the last 3 months
but should quicken in the New Year. Prospects for next financial
year are however not good. In particular the Americans who have
taken nearly 50,000 refugees from Hong Kong are, on present plans,
unlikely to maintain their offtake at previous levels. This is
dealt with in paragraphs 4 to 6 of the letter and expanded in Hong
Kong Telegram Number 1122, on which we have asked the Embassy in
Washington to act.
4. This situation has led the Hong Kong Government to review their
overall policy on Vietnamese refugees. The options available to
them are spelt out in paragraph 8 of the letter. They range from
doing nothing to repatriation. These options raise important issues
on which we await missions' comments. When these have been received
we will submit to the Lord Privy Seal.
This is however unlikely
/to
CONFIDENTIAL