CONFIDENTIAL
5. THE VESSEL YUVALIA, LIBERIAN REGISTERED UNDER CHARTER TO THE ISRAELI FIRM ZIM, RECENTLY REQUEESTED PERMISSION TO LAND 66
VIETNAMESE BOAT REFUGEES IN HONG KONG. THE YUVALIA WAS BOUND FOR KEELUNG IN TAIWAN WHEN THE REFUGEES WERE PICKED UP AND IT
WAS CLAIMED THAT THE TAIWAN AUTHORITIES WOULD NOT ALLOW THE
REFUGEES TO LAND THERE. THE BOAT IS SCHEDULED TO CALL AT A
JAPANESE PORT NEXT, WITH HONG KONG AS ITS THIRD CALL. WE HAVE
TOLD THE AGENTS THAT THIS PARTICULAR GROUPS OF REFUGEES CANNOT
BE LANDED IN HONG KONG. WE DID SO BECAUSE WE FEEL WE MUST GIVE
PRIORITY TO SHIPS WHOSE NEXT DESTINATION AFTER PICKING UP
REFUGEES WILL BE HONG KONG. OTHERWISE, OUR EXPERIENCE SUGGESTS THAT MASTERS OF SHIPS AND, IN TURN, WOULD-BE REFUGEES, WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO THINK OF HONG KONG AS AN EASY ESCAPE ROUTE. OUR
RELATIONS WITH BOTH VIETNAM AND CHINA WOULD BE AFFECTED ADVERSELY
IF THE NUMBERS GOT OUT OF HAND.
6. THERE MAY BE SOME CRITICISM OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH. IN CASE THERE IS DISCUSSION OF THE YUVALIA CASE, POSTS CONCERNED MAY CARE TO DRAW ON PARAS.2 AND 4 ABOVE TO ILLUSTRATE THE RESPONSIBLE WAY WE ARE TRYING TO DEAL WITH THIS SMALL BOAT
REFUGEE PROBLEM WHICH CALLS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT. WE AGREE
WITH THE UNHCR VIEW THAT EACH COUNTRY IN THE REGION OUGHT TO
TAKE A SHARE OF THE BURDENS INVOLVED IN FIRST ASYLUM. HONG KONG
ALREADY HAS A DIFFICULT PROBLEM WITH THE NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS
FROM CHINA AND WE ARE ALWAYS VULNERABLE TO ATTACK FROM THE KMT
AND OTHERS WHO MAY SEEK TO CONTRAST OUR REFUSAL TO ACCEPT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA WITH OUR WILLINGNESS TO ALLOW SOME REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM TEMPORARY LANDING.
į
7. WE UNDERSTAND THAT SAMPATKUMAR, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U.N HIGH COMMISSIONER IN KUALA LUMPUR IS ALREADY IN TOUCH WITH
THE JAPANESE AND TAIWANESE AUTHORITIES IN THE HOPE THAT THEY
WILL DEAL RESPONSIBLY WITH THE YUVALIA AND GRANT FIRST ASYLUM. MACLEHOSE
FILES
LIND
H REGD
SEAD
MVD
NEWS D
MR WEIR
MR CORTAZZI MR MURRAY
2
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.