TNAG-0654-FCO40-803-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 129

with 109

FAV 400/548/4

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Murray

VIETNAM

sustat

at reference

Flag A

(Your minute of 3 August: Hong Kong Chinese)

1. It is noteworthy that Sir M MacLehose has not yet written to us in the sense predicted by Mr Tesh. British nationality

is not, of course, in our gift.

2. Like you, SEAD do not understand Mr Tesh's comments on the scale of the Chinese refugee problem, and the statement. that it would be largely over by September.

3. I invite your attention to paragraphs 6-8 of the Hong Kong Secretary for Security's letter of 21 July to Mr Stewart, stating that there were in fact 10,000 cases waiting

processing in mid-July and applications were still reaching Hong Kong at the rate of 2,000 a month. Even with the more

restrictive criteria for entry which Hong Kong have introduced, it is clear that no early end to the flow of refugees is in sight.

4. We should consider further the arrangements necessary for processing applications after Mr Maideen, for his own purposes, flies the coop. It is for consideration when Mr Tesh should return to the charge in support of attaching two Hong Kong officers to his staff (and having them run down to Saigon) or basing them in Saigon. Perhaps we could speak about this.

Mufinom.

A M Simons

5 August 1977

South-East Asian Department

CONFIDENTIAL