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Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
Telephone 01- 233 3184
62
seel 16
27
D G Jeaffreson Esq CBE Secretary for Security Government Secretariat HONG KONG
Dear David
SHIP RESCUE : MV POYANG
1.
48 been a while in replying.
27
Your reference
?
Our reference
Date
77
HKK 243/2
5 May 1983
HKK 243/2
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
0 - MAY 1983
DESK OFFICER
PA
INDEX
NO
10
REGIST
Action Taken
Ds | Anis
Thank you for your letter of 8 April. I am sorry to have As you no doubt know, it crossed with a teleletter of 12 April from Chris Segar of SEAD to Patrick Williamson. There is, I regret, little I can say by way of addition to Segar's remarks. We have pressed the Home Office hard on this. But the Home Secretary has told the Secretary of State in a letter of 20 February that he was unable to agree to any further concessions. He is not prepared to add to the UK's existing commitments by including refugees picked up by vessels registered outside the UK. Mr Whitelaw also commented that the Hong Kong Government had had the opportunity to include refugees from the Poyang in the then unfilled quota, but did not do so. To accept any now would in effect mean an increase in that quota and in Mr Whitelaw's view that is not justified. I realise the problems this causes you, but I think we must accept it at the moment. (We were not, incidentally, aware of McDowall's letter to Williamson of 26 January.)
2.
In the circumstances, we consider that a further approach to the Home Office so soon after the last one would be bound to fail and, more seriously, might actually be counter-productive. To approach and be rebuffed now would not, I think, make it easier for us to go back to them in the future should circumstances change, I should make it plain that in ruling out an approach now I am not ruling out possible approaches in the future.
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13.