TNAG-0586-FCO40-719-Aid-from-UK-for-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 151

CONFIDENTIAL

?+2

انور

C.S. 41A

BY BAG

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

本署檔號 OUR REF.:

SCR 27/65

* YOUR Ref.:

22 1:976

R B Janvrin Esq

HKIOD

[PKK 243/548/1

LASI REF

*Hong Kong

FCO

свет

Kubin,

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1.

COLONIAL SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

18 June 1976

Acknowledged in

leber our Magas hum fite

назал,

/vii

1

(14)

As you may have seen in the local press, 19 Vietnamese refugees arrived in Hong Kong on 10 June aboard the British* tanker 'Cree'. They were picked up by the 'Cree' on 28 May Registered off the south coast of Vietnam from a trawler, in which they

had escaped from near Saigon two day's earlier. (They have claimed that the trawler was sinking but there have been suspicions that they deliberately tried to sink the trawler in order to persuade the Master of the 'Cree' to pick them up.)

The 'Cree', which was on a routine run from Hong Kong to singapore, then took them to Singapore, where they were refused entry. The 'Cree' therefore returned to Hong Kong with

them.

2.

On arrival in Hong Kong the refugees were given permission to stay for one month on humanitarian grounds. Jardines, the owners of the 'Cree', are helping provide for them, as is International Social Service, who are co-operating with Immigration Department in trying to arrange their onward resettlement. One family, which speaks Cantonese may be accepted in Hong Kong, although their relation here cannot support them. Another family are possible emigrants to the US, but do not qualify for immediate entry. The Canadian, German, French and Australian Missions have also been approached, but without very positive results. Two of the women are heavily pregnant, and unlikely to be able to move anyway in the near future.

Cc: J F R Martin Esq

FED,

FCO

Chancery Peking Chancery Hanoi Chancery Singapore

Yours in Last

Chees

(C D S Drace-Francis)