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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
comprehensive arrangement permitting the return of
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION economic migrants to Vietnam. This means treating them
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no differently from the illegal immigrants coming to Hong
Kong from China or indeed illegal immigrants the world
over who are simply sent back to their country of
origin. There has beeen a very general acceptance, in
Parliament and in the media, that the Hong Kong
Government have no feasible alternative. We have made it
clear that we would need guarantees that those returned
would be treated humanely. But we have to recognise that
some boat people may resist being returned to Vietnam
against their will. We could face criticism of an
emotive nature for example analogies, however far
fetched, with the treatment of the Cossacks after World
when the time comes to implement the policy in
War II
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the glare of publicity.
7.
The request of the Vietnamese for financial
assistance to resettle their own people is a distasteful
one. But I see no prospect of resolving this intractable
problem in Hong Kong unless we go a little way to meet
them. Those who leave Vietnam have usually sold all they
possess: and the bankrupt Vietnamese Government will
claim it has no funds to help them. There could be no
question of providing development aid, or of making money
directly available to the Vietnamese Government.
believe we should be prepared to indicate at the next
round of talks that if a comprehensive repatriation
programme can be drawn up for the return of substantial
numbers of boat people we may be ready to contribute to a
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But I