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CONFIDENTIAL
HRD
162
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
HED 243/12
Dea Charles.
London SW1A 2AH
21 December 1988
Resettlement of Vietnamese Boat People
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Thank you for your letter of 20 December about the proposed resettlement of a further 1,000 Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong.
Where the Prime Minister's two conditions are concerned, the first will be taken up through urgent diplomatic consultations with other resettlement governments. We shall be discussing the second with the Department of the Environment and the Home Office.
As you know, an adjournment debate on Vietnamese boat people is to be held in the House of Commons tomorrow morning. Sir Geoffrey Howe believes that it would be highly desirable if we could use that occasion to make public our readiness, under certain conditions, to accept a further 1,000 boat people. I attach the draft of a passage which he proposes should be included in Mr Eggar's speech in replying to the debate. It makes clear that our own further involvement will be part of a wider international effort, and that we shall be approaching other governments to seek matching commitments before we prepared to go ahead with our own plans. It also makes plain that any new refugees must not add to the heavy pressures in urban areas where there are already considerable pressures on housing resources.
We shall arrange for an advance text of Mr Eggar's statement to be given in confidence to Miss Lydia Dunn, who has written to the Prime Minister on behalf of all Executive and Legislative Councillors to seek an additional UK resettlement commitment. We shall submit very quickly the draft of a letter for the Prime Minister to send to Miss Dunn. We shall also instruct our posts in the main resettlement countries to bring Mr Eggar's statement to the attention of their host governments, and to explain that they will receive instructions to make a formal approach on the issue very soon after Christmas. Preparation and coordination with the Hong Kong Government will be necessary if these representations are to have the maximum impact.
I am copying this letter to Philip Mawer (Home Office), Roger Bright (Department of the Environment), Neil Thornton (DTI), Myles Wickstead (ODA), Clive Norris (Department of Employment) and Trevor Woolley (Cabinet Office).
C D Powell Esq 10 Downing Street
Sapto wall
Yous
CONFIDENTIAL
(J S Wall)
Private Secretary