172
CONFIDENTIAL
HKB
243/11
[VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG : FINANCING QUESTIONS]
B
1.
This submission and the accompanying draft letter to the Chief Secretary have been revised following discussion of earlier versions with me.
2.
The funding problems which the Governor described at the end of September have not got any easier in the past six weeks. As Sir D Wilson will no doubt explain to Ministers during his discussions here later this week, the Hong Kong Government have had to resort to some fairly questionable technical devices to find sufficient money to fund their recurrent expenditure. Without clear evidence that non-voluntary repatriation has started, there is very little prospect that the Legislative Council will approve funds for new capital expenditure.
3.
At a time of great difficulty for Hong Kong, there is a strong political case for doing as much as we can to help the territory cope with the mounting number of Vietnamese boat people. I hope that the Secretary of State will be prepared to write in the way suggested.
13 November 1989
Cc:
Mr Gillmore
R J T McLaren
Mr Blatherwick
Mr Crabbie, RMD
Mr Griffith, Finance Dept
Mr Colvin, SEAD
Mr Paul, HKD
Mr Ireton, ODA
・R7171
Miss Mandan
Mr Stowe 416/11 Mr Hassen 17/11
W157
MC1ABZ
CONFIDENTIAL