CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 549
OF 17120OZ FEBRUARY 89
AND TO PRIORITY PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
HKD 243/ EMOLIAN
125036 MDLIAN 7993
TOP COPY Q DIST ?
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : ECVIIS AND VBP
1. DPA AND POLITICAL ADVISER RAISED THE ECVII ISSUE WITH LI RUOHE OF
NCNA ON 3 AND 4 FEBRUARY RESPECTIVELY. THE POINTS COVERED ARE IN PARAGRAPH 2 BELOW. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF PEKING COULD FIND AN EARLY OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE MFA IN ORDER BOTH TO REINFORCE THESE POINTS AND ALSO TO PASS ON THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON RECENT ARRIVALS IN PARAGRAPH 3.
2 (A) IT REMAINS AN URGENT PRIORITY TO REPATRIATE THE RECENTLY
ARRIVED ECVIIS. (NOTE THAT SINCE 15 FEBRUARY THE POSITION HAS WORSENED BECAUSE ECVIIS ARE ACCOMODATED IN THE GREEN ISLAND RECEPTION CENTRE. THIS HAS MADE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THE PROCESSING
OF THE SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS OF RECENT ARRIVALS OF VBPS. THERE IS A RENEWED AND SERIOUS STRAIN ON HKGS RESOURSES WHICH WOULD BE MUCH ALLIVIATED IF THE ECVIIS, NUMBERING MORE THAN 800, COULD BE SENT
BACK QUICKLY.
(B) WE UNDERSTAND THAT A TEAM OF OFFICIALS FROM PEKING RECENTLY VISITED GUANGXI TO DISCUSS THE ECVII ISSUE. WE WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THE RESULTS. WE REMAIN READY TO SEND HONG KONG OFFICIALS TO NANNING TO WORK WITH THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES IF THIS WOULD BE USEFUL.
(C) ANOTHER 88 ECVIIS WERE REPATRIATED ON 17 JANUARY. HOWEVER, THERE WERE 22 OTHER NAMES FROM FANG CHENG IN GUANGXI WHICH WERE SUBMITTED
TOGETHER WITH THIS BATCH BUT WERE REJECTED BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES ON THE GROUNDS THAT THESE PEOPLE HAD NOT SETTLED IN CHINA. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE INFACT BEEN LIVING IN CHINA SINCE 1980 AND ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM OTHER REPATRIATED ECVIIS. WE HAVE.MADE CLEAR TO NCNA OUR VIEW THAT THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA ON THE RETURN OF ECVIIS COVERS SUCH PEOPLE. NCNA ARE PASSING THIS ON TO GUANGXI.
3. THE INFORMATION ON RECENT ARRIVALS IS AS FOLLOWS:
(I) ON 15 FEBRUARY TWO GROUPS TOTALLING 128 VBP ARRIVED IN HONG KONG. THE FIRST GROUP OF 37 LEFT VIETNAM IN LATE DECEMBER AND
1
PAGE
CONFIDENTIAL
14)