CONFIDENTIAL
PA
72
Mr Clift, HKGD
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
HKK243/5
#DONO IN CISYPY NO. $1
12 APR 1983
DENK OFFICER INDEX
RA
1
RUSTRY
Action Taken
12/4/83
1.
Lord Belstead has seen your submission of 8 April and decided not to hold a meeting. He has commented as follows:
2.
"Since my original minute to the Secretary of State there has been the widespread public criticism of the case of the Romanian deportee. I therefore agree with the view in para 4 that we cannot now support Hong Kong declaring its intention of refusing entry to new arrivals.
I agree with the two-pronged approach (in telegrams to Posts) to explore the possibility of a multilateral approach to the Vietnamese with the aim of stemming the outflow and urging resettlement countries to take more refugees from Hong Kong. We must try to do these two things for Hong Kong's sake."
We agreed that you would submit a short minute for Lord Belstead to put to the Secretary of State tomorrow encapsulating the recommenda- tions you have made, any new comment from the Governor in Hong Kong, and answering the idea suggested by the Secretary of State in the last sentence of Mr Holmes' minute of 29 March.
11 April 1983
cc: Mr Donald
Mr Williams, UND
Mr Burns, SEAD
Mr Burrows, Legal Advisers
Note
J
Malkin
further popesan
243/1.
M A Arthur
PS/Lord Belstead
CONFIDENTIAL