CONFIDENTIAL
Co Mr Critchley
Mr MoDowall
MR WOODFIELD
REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM
1. Please see the minute of 13 May from the Foreign Secretary in which he draws particular attention to the4,600 refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong, says
and that he is drawing the attention of a number of countries to the problem, that our ability to influence those countries to accept some of the refugees in Hong Kong will to some extent depend on our own attitude towards the admission of refugees.
2.
The Home Secretary's statement on 8 May said that we were prepared to admit a number of refugees from Vietnam if they had a connection or tie with the United Kingdom. The position at the moment is that we just do not know how many of the refugees, either in Hong Kong or in the USA or elsewhere, have a connection or ti with the United Kingdom and wish to come hero. These particulars are still being obtained. In Hong Kong they will be obtained by the llong Kong Government, who will let us have the information as soon as possible. So far as the refugees in the USA and elsewhere are concerned, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is dealing with the processing of applications by people who wish to settle in some other country than the USA, and on past form the UNHCR will let us know in due course about any refugees who wish to come to the United Kingdom.
3. This is the position at this juncture, and until we have much more informa- tion I do not think that we can say that the conditions laid down in the state- ment in Parliament will be interpreted in any particular way. What we had in mind was that we would admit any refugee who had a relative here, or who had previously studied here, provided that he was personally acceptable and that there was a responsible sponsor. The present indications are that most of the refugees will wish to settle in the USA, with smaller numbers wishing to go to Canada, France and Australia. So probably not many will wish to come here unless, for example, they are influenced by the Hong Kong Government, the USA or the UNHCR.
4.
The Standing onference for Aid to Refugees have expressed the hope on the telephone that admission will not be limited to refugees who had a connection or tie with the United Kingdom and I expect that FCO will in due course take the same line with the refugees in Hong Kong. But it seems undesirable to agree to this further relaxation until we know how many refugees we shall have to absorb under the criteria already made public.
5. ? To Kr Lyon.
2. To the S. of S., with draft reply to the Foreign Secretary.
14 May 1975
CONFIDENTIAL
T FITZGERALD
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