HOFO 010/04
GRS 260
RESTRICTED
TELELETTER
0608
Reckme
28.2
dope
речк
3/2
HKK 243
FROM R P MARGOLIS, DPA HONG KONG
#
FILE PEF CR56/4821/79
EY
INDEX
DATED 4 FEBRUARY 1982
FOLLOWING FOR P J WILLIAMSON, HKGD, FCO
Aw
Ju.2 14/2
SE NAG 243
(16)
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.
#
PLEASE REFER TO YOUR TELELETTER OF 1 FEBRUARY. RAYMOND HALL (WHO IS BRITISH) IS DEPUTY HEAD OF THE UNHCR OFFICE HERE AND IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND ITS WORK. THE QUOTATION IS FROM A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE (COPIED TO YOU BY BAG) HEADED UK URGED TO TAKE MORE BO AT PEOPLE IN WHICH HALL AND TWO LEADING REPRESENTATIVES OF HONG KONG VOLUNTARY AGENCIES SAID "IF (OTHER COUNTRIES) SEE BRITAIN NOT DOING ANYTHING THEY WILL SAY WHY SHOULD WE?''. THE SEVERELY REDUCED RESETTLEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR 1982 CAUSED BY THE DRYING UP OF QUOTAS AND THE MORE RESTRICTIVE US SELECTION CRITERIA HAVE LED TO RENEWED LOCAL PRESS INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT, OF WHICH THIS ARTICLE IS A RESULT. THE VIAWS EXPRESSED IN THE ARTICLE ARE WIDELY HELD BY THOSE INVOLVED IN REFUGEE WORK HERE AND FREQUENTLY IMPARTED TO THOSE OF US IN THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WHO DEAL WITH THE SUBJECT. WE DO OUR BEST TO EXPLAIN THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTS OF LIFE IN THE UK.
THE
2. THE FIGURES QUOTED IN YOUR PARA 1 ARE INDEED WRONG. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE FIGURES OF 64 AND 1722 HAVE SIMPLY BEEN TRANSPOSED. 64 WAS IN ANY CASE THE ARRIVAL FIGURE FOR
THE MISLEADING THE PRECEDING FOUR DAYS ONLY. MORE SUBSTANTIALLY, FIGURE OF 8241 RESULTS FROM THE NUMBER OF EX-CHINA CASES (3273) HAVING BEEN ERRONEOUSLY SUBTRACTED TWICE FROM THE OVERALL TOTAL. TO BRING YOU UP TO DATE, ON 1 FEBRUARY WE HAD 11,532 GENUINE REFUGEES AND 3273 EX CHAINA CASES, A TOTAL OF 14,805. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE MISCALCULATION EXPLAINED ABOVE MAY HAVE BEEN PERPETUATED IN SUCCESSIVE GIS SITREPS FOR SOME TIME NOW, GIVING YOU AN ARTIFICIALLY LOW FIGURE FOR OUR CASE-LOAD.
SIGNED R P MARGOLIS.
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