CONFIDENTIAL
121722
MDHIAN 2758
TION OF THOSE QUOTE SCREENED OUT UNQUOTE WAS PRESUMABLY BOUND TO LAST FOR SOME TIME, SINCE FORCED REPATRIATION TO VIETNAM IN PRE- SENT CIRCUMSTANCES WAS CLEARLY OUT OF THE QUESTION. HE ALSO NOTED
THAT THE GAP BETWEEN REFUGEE AND ECONOMIC IMMIGRANT WAS OFTEN NOT AS
WIDE AS THE TERMS IMPLIED. A LARGE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE COMING OUT
OF VIETNAM WERE QUOTE FLEEING POVERTY AND GENERALISED POLITICAL REPRESSION UNQUOTE. US GUIDELINES LAID PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE
ECONOMIC COERCION
NEED NOT TO MISINTERPRET ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
WAS OFTEN JUST AS GREAT A CAUSE OF REFUGEES AS POLITICAL COERCION. ON SUPPORT COSTS, BLEAKLEY NOTED THAT THE UNHCR ALREADY CONTRIBUTED SOME US DOLLARS 460 FOR EACH REFUGEE. HE WAS AWARE OF THE ARGUMENTS FROM THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT FOR MORE UNHCR FUNDS. BUT THOUGHT UNHCR'S CONTRIBUTION WAS ALREADY QUITE GENEROUS PARTICULARLY COMPARED WITH THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO REFUGEES IN SOME OF THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
COMMENT
7.
"
BLEAKLEY SEEMED A LITTLE WARY OF MAKING ANY SPECIFIC PROMISE TO SUPPORT THE NEW POLICY PUBLICLY, BUT HE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THAT OUR HANDS HAD BEEN FORCED BY THE RECENT DRAMATIC INFLUX OF REFU-
GEES AND DECLINE IN RESETTLEMENT. WE WILL FOLLOW UP ON PARA-
GRAPHS 2 AND 3 ABOVE IN A DAY OR SO.
8. BLEAKLEY ADDED THAT HE HAD ALSO JUST RECEIVED A REPORT FROM THE US CONSUL-GENERAL IN HONG KONG ON THE BRIEFING BY THE GOVERNOR, FOR WHICH STATE WERE MOST GRATEFUL.
ACLAND
YYYY
ΜΑΙΝ
LIMITED
48
DISTRIBUTION
48
PS/PUS
HKD
SEAD
UND
LEGAL ADVISERS
PS
PS/MRS
CHALKER
PS/LORD GLENARTHUR
MR GILLMORE
MR MCLAREN
NNNN