243/1
Chief Secretary
Government Secretariat
Lower Albert Road
HONG KONG
Dear Sir
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1
124
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Reg
SEAD
Opes _Pl.
cepcji po doar thi Sega METE
Miss Bam for th
BRITISH EMBASSY
SANTIAGO CHILE
SAMD.
遲
26 August 1983 @ Mease 16
Mirishift. to see.
HICK 243/2 px Resettlement.
Анск
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
2-SEP 1983
19.
REGISTRY
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Action Taken
DESK CFFCER
INDEX
Please refer to your telegram number 2 to Caracas and our telno. 4 in reply. I apologise for the delay in replying. We have, however, had a couple of recent cases involving the immigration status of British citizens which rather complicated our approach to the Chilean authorities on this subject.
2 I called this week on Sr Francisco Villagran, the Head of Foreign Immigration at the Ministry of Interior to discuss the matter. He was sympathetic but unable to offer much in the way of practical help or assistance. Chile has traditionally received immigrants from Europe and to a much lesser extent the Middle East. There is a very small Asiatic community mainly comprising descendants of Chinese who came to work in Chile as cooks, domestic servants etc., in the early part of this century. The community has been augmented slightly over the last 10 years or so as a result of Chile's increased trading links with the Far East. But it remains insignificant in terms of numbers.
3 Sr Villagran thought it most unlikely that Chile could absorb any worthwhile number of Vietnamese refugees, not only for cultural reasons but also because of the very serious economic situation in which the country finds itself at present. Chile has been badly hit by the world recession. Its external trading has been particularly affected and, while accurate statistics are not available, the true level of unemployment may well exceed 30% of the working population. He told me that several years ago Chile had offered to accept a small number of Vietnamese families but those concerned had finally chosen to settle elsewhere. According to Villagran, Chile had made its main contribution to the re-settlement of Vietnamese refugees through donations to international organisations such as the I.C.E.M.
4
Nevertheless, Sr Villagran, a courteous and helpful official, confirmed that he would be pleased to receive Mr Stumpf although it was unlikely that he would be able to do more than re-iterate Chile's position. I am sorry that I have been unable to produce anything more positive but we shall, of course, do our best to assist Mr Stumpf if he decides to include Chile on his programme.
Yours faithfully
c.c. HKGD, FCO ✓
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J Cummins
HM Consul