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option of no screening on arrival: we have suggested strengthening this by underlining Ministers' strong reservations about this option and the adverse reaction it would create on the part of UNHCR and the international community.
5.
On (b) the Secretary of State will wish to note that the
timetable proposed by Hong Kong would necessitate very swift action
on his return to London from Hong Kong (possibly a minute to Cabinet
colleagues on the day of his return, if he felt that the issue
needed to be considered at that level).
6. Mr Peirce's minute of 12 May recorded that the Secretary of State doubts whether he will be able to go as far as we propose in speaking about further resettlement during his visit to Hong Kong. For the time being I have included in the draft minute to the Prime
Minister, for his further consideration, an unchanged form of words. It is not a commitment: it is only an undertaking to consider the resettlement aspect of Hong Kong's problem, along with all other aspects. I am afraid I continue to find it difficult to see how the
Secretary of State could say less while in Hong Kong without laying himself open to serious criticism.
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Colten
CO Hum
1. As
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