CONFIDENTIAL
us in that
direction, or
be
whether arrangements could
worked out which would be defensible at home or
internationally.
There are obvious difficulties in
prospect in dealing with a Vietnamese Government with a
record of intransigence and a scanty regard for human
rights: the Vietnamese could well seek to hold out for an
unacceptable political or financial quid pro quo. But resettlement alone will not provide a definitive answer to
the problem of Vietnamese refugees or definitive relief for
Hong Kong. It is our obligation to Hong Kong to explore
whether dialogue with Vietnam could not offer a way forward, at least in the longer term. Collective dialogue, if sensitively handled, could both increase our margin of
in presentational terms and improve the admittedly slender chances of making progress.
manoeuvre
Coltun
CO Hum
13 August 1986
Hong Kong Department
CONFIDENTIAL