RESTRICTED
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
K J Woodhouse Esq
Secuirty Branch
Government Secretariat
HONG KONG
Telephone 01- 233 4439
Your reference
Our reference
HKK 243/5
Date
17 May 1985
174)
Dear Mr Woodhouse,
LEAGUE OF RED CROSS SOCIETIES : 1985 APPEAL FOR SOUTH EAST ASIAN
REFUGEES
1. The League of Red Cross Societies recently launched a fund- raising appeal to help support its work with South East Asian refugees in Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia and the Philippines. HMG are considering whether to contribute, but are more likely to do so than not.
2. In the course of studying this appeal, one aspect that arose was the question of whether or not Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong might thereby benefit (the Hong Kong Red Cross, which runs the Kai Tak Centre, is a branch of the British Red Cross, which as a "national society" is in turn a member of the League). So far as we can gather, however, the League, whose appeals are based on those of national socieities (in this case those of S E Asia), has not received any appeal from the British Red Cross on behalf of Hong Kong's refugees.
3.
This may be because UNHCR meets most of the running costs of Kai Tak : though I doubt if it meets them all. It may also be either because the Hong Kong Red Cross has not prodded the British Red Cross to appeal to the League for help, or because it has prodded but the British Society has not done anything.
4.
Either way,
I wonder if it is worth your having a chat with Morris Morgan to see if the Hong Kong Branch want to do anything. This is not a very important suggestion (more of a random thought); but if the British Society were stirred to action it might bring in (a) a little more cash for Kai Tak (b) a little more publicity for Hong Kong's problem (it sticks in one's craw for obvious reasons, to see the League's appeal refer to the refugee problem in Macau, but not that in Hong Kong!).
MKK 243/5
RECEIVED IN ALJISTRY
INDEX
2 0 MAY 1985
REGISTRY
Action Takan
Yours sucurely Jeff Thomas
рр.с
.C E Leeks
Hong Kong Department
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