CONFIDENTIAL
105
063161 MDHIAN 9233
CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING
TO IMMEDIATE FCO TELNO 706
OF 030834Z MAY 90
HiCB 243/14
RECEIVED!
12 PAY 1990
Y
-
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, HANOI
INFO PRIORITY UKMIS GENEVA, WASHINGTON, OTTAWA
(6)
་།
YOUR TELNO 365 : VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : 1990 ARRIVALS
1. I CALLED ON CHEN ZIYING, DIRECTOR OF THE HONG KONG AND MACAO AFFAIRS OFFICE OF THE MFA, ON 4 MAY.
2. I SAID THAT MR HURD AND THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG WERE BECOMING CONCERNED AT THE SHARP INCREASE IN THE ARRIVAL RATE OF VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG IN RECENT DAYS. GALSWORTY HAD SPOKEN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM INFORMALLY TO LU PING AT THE JLG BANQUET ON 27 APRIL. I THEN REHEARSED THE POINTS IN MY TELNO 40 (NOT TO ALL) AND THOSE IN PARAS 2 AND 3 OF HONG KONG TELNO 1387. I SAID THAT THIS EMBASSY ALSO PASSED DETAILS OF VBP ARRIVALS IN HONG KONG ON A REGULAR BASIS TO THE HKMAO CMOST RECENTLY ON 25 APRIL).
3. I NOTED THAT CHINESE REPRESENTATIVES HAD SAID ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT THEY HOPED THE PROBLEM WOULD BE SOLVED BY 1997. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HOPED THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES WOULD COOPERATE OVER THIS DIFFICULT PROBLEM BY TAKING EARLY AND EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT FURTHER LARGE NUMBERS OF VBP'S REACHING HONG KONG THIS YEAR. THE BRITISH SIDE HAD TAKEN, AND CONTINUED TO TAKE, ACTION TO RETURN VBP'S TO VIETNAM. USEFUL PROGRESS HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE. WE HOPED TO SEE FURTHER PROGRESS IN THE FUTURE. BUT THE MEASURES WE WERE TAKING TO RETURN VBP'S TO VIETNAM WOULD BE SERIOUSLY UNDERMINED IF MEASURES TO PREVENT THE MOVEMENT OF SUCH PEOPLE TO HONG KONG WERE INEFFECTIVE. THIS WAS A JOINT PROBLEM: WE DID NOT WANT VBP'S IN HONG KONG NOW ANY MORE THAN CHINA WANTED THEM IN 1997. IT WAS THEREFORE IN OUR JOINT INTEREST THAT CHINA SHOULD SUPPORT OUR POLICIES BY CONTROLLING THE FLOW. I NOTED THAT VIETNAMESE VICE FOREIGN MINISTER DINH LHO LIEM WAS CURRENTLY IN PEKING. I HOPED THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE COURSE OF HIS VISIT FOR CHINESE OFFICIALS TO RAISE THE PROBLEM WITH HIM. A SOLUTION WAS IN VIETNAM'S INTERESTS AS WELL AS IN THE INTERESTS OF THE UK,
HONG KONG AND CHINA.
1
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL