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As regards rescues at sea, we have not so far refused to give the country of first asylum the required guarantee of resettlement in the United Kingdom for those refugees picked up by ships registered in the United Kingdom. This is, in effect, an unquantifiable commitment which brings further family reunion applications in its wake. I am not prepared to add to this existing commitment by including vessels registered outside the United Kingdom. You ask that an exception be made for the 27 still in Hong Kong from the "Po Yang", but the Hong Kong Government had the opportunity to include these refugees in the then unfilled quota and, for reasons still not clear to me, did not do so. Now that the quota has been used up, accepting this 27 would in effect mean an increase in that quota. I do not think this is justified.
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You also mention the proposal by Ockenden Venture and Save the Children Fund that each shall receive 20 orphans from Hong Kong. I under- stand that they are not orphans but are children who have been separated from their parents by choice, or by circumstances. I have recently written to the British Refugee Council rejecting this proposal; the cost and difficulty of arranging satisfactory care and settlement were factors, and also the fact that, once here, the children could generate yet further family reunion applications.
The continuing commitments to those Vietnamese already here on the admission of close relatives and to future rescues by United Kingdom registered ships are not the only refugee commitments we face. In addition you will be aware of the numbers of Poles, Ghanaians and Iranians already in this country who are seeking asylum here as refugees. Those and other nationals in the United Kingdom who qualify as refugees represent an additional commitment from which we cannot escape. The current climate on immigration is such that while we must meet our international obligations we should avoid taking on additional commitments which increase the numbers granted settlement in this country. I am afraid, therefore, that I cannot agree to any further concessions to Hong Kong or elsewhere which would lead to an increase in the number of Vietnamese coming here.
I am copying this letter to the Prime Minister.
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