150263
MDTTAN 5330
PLEASE NOTE
HKD
COPY TO SEAD
CONFIDENTIAL
FM WASHINGTON
CONFIDENTIAL
HUD 243/7...
TO TELELETTER FCO
TELELETTER NFR
77 JAN 1988
OF 141954Z JANUARY 88
AND TO TELELETTER HONG KONG, UKMIS GENEVA
COPIES
LEM PASSED TO
FM :
TO :
COPY:
PF RICKETTS, FIRST SECRETARY, CHANCERY
CO HUM ESQ, HKD, FCO
MD REILLY ESQ, SEAD, FCO
∞∞
Sito
CHANCERY HONG KONG
CHANCERY, UKMIS GENEVA
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1. I TOOK ACTION THIS WEEK ON THE INSTRUCTIONS IN YOUR TELNO 2094.
AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO RUN FUNSETH TO
EARTH (HE HAS BEEN OUT OF WASHINGTON) I SAW HIS IMMEDIATE DEPUTY, HUNTER.
,
2. I LEFT HUNTER A NOTE DRAWN FROM THE POINTS IN YOUR TELEGRAM.
HUNTER RESPONDED THAT IN CONSIDERING THE ALLOCATION OF P6
PLACES, LEVELS OF RESETTLEMENT BY THE OTHER MAJOR COUNTRIES WERE ONE ELEMENT, ALTHOUGH NOT THE ONLY ONE. HE UNDERSTOOD
OUR POSITION, BUT HAD TO SAY THAT IN VIEW OF THE RELATIVELY SMALL ABSOLUTE NUMBERS INVOLVED, THE STATE DEPARTMENT REMAINED DISAPPOINTED THAT WE HAD NOT FELT ABLE TO INCREASE OUR OWN
RESETTLEMENT IN VIEW OF THE PRESSURES BUILDING UP IN HONG KONG.
3. I ASKED HUNTER WHERE MATTERS STOOD FOR THE FY-1988 AMERICAN
PROGRAMME. HE CONFIRMED THAT IN THE OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL
AGREED JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CONGRESS HAD FUNDED THE FULL EXTENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S REQUESTS FOR REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT. THAT MEANT THAT THEY HAD THE MONEY FOR THEIR
TARGET OF 29,500 REFUGEES FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA. THEY WERE
NOW LOOKING AT HOW TO DEPLOY THEIR PROCESSING STAFF FOR THE
YEAR. THE HIGHEST PRESSURE AT PRESENT WAS IN THAILAND, WHERE BOTH THE LAO AND CAMBODIAN PROGRAMMES WERE LIKELY TO YIELD
LARGE NUMBERS OF NEW CASES THIS YEAR. THE PRESSURES IN
MALAYSIA WHICH HAD LED TO THE ALLOCATION OF 1000 P6 PLACES IN
1987 HAD EASED THIS YEAR. THE POSSIBILITY OF ALLOCATING
P6 PLACES TO HONG KONG WAS STILL AN OPTION ON THE TABLE.
4.
WE WENT AROUND THIS COURSE SEVERAL MORE TIMES. THERE IS
AN OUNCE OF COLD COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT
HAVE NOT SHUT THE DOOR ENTIRELY ON P6 PLACES FOR HONG KONG.
BUT I AM NOT CONFIDENT THAT THEY ARE YET WILLING TO GIVE HONG
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