TNAG-0558-FCO40-653-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-othe-1975 — Page 69

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CONFIDENTIAL

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Mr Male

Parliamentary Unit

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PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION:

1.

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

I submit a draft reply to the question which

Mr Kenneth Clarke MP (Conservative, Rushcliffe) has put down for written answer on 1 July.

2.

Mr Clarke's Question is very similar to that put down by Sir Paul Bryan which is, I understand, to be answered tomorrow. On the understanding that Mr Clarke's question will be answered

on 2 July, the reply can refer generally to that given to Sir Paul Bryan. The difficult part of Mr Clarke's question, however, is over the question of further assistance if the refugees remain in Hong Kong for a prolonged period since the ODM have made it clear that, in their view, the additional grant of £50,000 is the limit of financial support they are prepared to provide. It is open to us to approach them again in due course should the circumstances warrant but clearly one has to be careful to keep

(22) 223) the options open in a reply at this stage. There has been an

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exchange of telegrams with Hong Kong about how the reply on this point might be formulated but this has not produced any satisfactory solution. I have, therefore, consulted Mr Rae of the ODM again, with the result set out in the proposed draft reply.

3.

Mr Clarke visited Hong Kong in May 1974 on one of the regular series of visits sponsored for MPs by the Hong Kong Government. He put down a question for written answer on 20 May this year about the Vietnamese refugee problem in Hong Kong.

30 June 1975

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Ps/Lord Goronwy-Roberts

Math

PL O'Keeffe

Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.

PR Mil

CONFIDENTIAL