May Slater
PM/88/022
PRIME MINISTER
HKD 243/3
CONFIDENTIAL
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Vietnamese Boat People in Hong Kong
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1. I minuted to you on 17 May about the problem of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong. Since then I have visited Hong Kong and seen it for myself. The influx continues at seven times the rate of last year, while resettlement has sharply declined. There are now over 15,000 boat people, where last year there were 8,000. More than 1,100 have arrived over the last three days. The strain on Hong Kong Government's resources is considerable and the pressure on them to do something is intense. The issue dominated press coverage of my visit. I am quite convinced that things cannot go on as they are, and that Hong Kong must introduce quickly the new policy that they have been considering. In essence, this would involve screening new arrivals in accordance with UNHCR criteria so as to preserve access to first asylum and resettlement for genuine refugees, while detaining those screened out pending eventual repatriation to Vietnam.
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The new policy would have to be widely publicised (including within Vietnam, for example through BBC broadcasts). We would also press the Chinese to stop their own people on the South China coast from
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CONFIDENTIAL