(5)
1 HKD 2432STRICTED
AFON:
4 APR 1909
Mr Pa
Paul, , Hong Kong Dept
FROM: C D Crabbie
Rn 1914
Miss Másoin
Finance Dept Mr Footma No21/4
DATE: 18 April 1989 Mr Iaswendiz14
cc Mr Blatherwick
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG: FINANCE
1.
enter
19/4
I have now seen your draft submission, together with Mr Machin's comments from ODA. Mr Ireton has subsequently told the Principal Finance Officer that as far as ODA is concerned, the option of drawing on their Contingency Reserve is a non-starter.
2. I do not agree that your recommended options should be confined to meeting the Governor's request by one means or another. I think Ministers should also consider the option of not finding the cash on the grounds that:
(a) the £4m offer amounts to a preemptive concession
which may not do the trick;
(b)
it would set a precedent for further contributions to Hong Kong by the British taxpayer;
(c) the prospects of extracting extra cash from HMT
for this purpose are slight;
(d)
ODA do not judge it appropriate to draw on their hard pressed Contingency Reserve;
(e) the Diplomatic Wing have no spare funds for this
purpose.
3. If, nevertheless, Ministers decide to respond favourably to the Governor's proposal, they would also need to decide which Wing of the FCO should seek extra resources from HMT. Both the DW and the ODA have good reasons for wanting the other to be in the lead. From the DW's point of view, ODA's Votes seem a more appropriate home for expenditure on refugees than DW ones: their Class II Vote 5 seems to me to offer several potential homes for such provision, although I appreciate that ODA see it differently. In all events, the arguments on this can be rehearsed by Mr Blatherwick and Mr Ireton at the Foreign Secretary's meeting on Thursday.
4.
You may therefore think that your submission should be adjusted to reflect:
the option of not agreeing to the Governor's request;
the
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