TNAG-0654-FCO40-803-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 86

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CYPHER CAT A

FM FCO 191830Z

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2 O SEP 1977

TO IMMEDIATE TOKYO TELNO 474 OF 19 SEPTEMBER

AND TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

INFO UKMIS GENEVA MANILA MONROVIA

1122 698

YOUR TELNO 698: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1. FOLLOWING AN INITIAL APPROACH FROM THE JAPANESE EMBASSY, WE CALLED IN HAMANO (FIRST SECRETARY), MAKING THE SAME POINTS AS IN MY TELNO 472 AND STRESSING THE SERIOUSNESS WITH WHICH HMG VIEWED THIS SITUATION. HE UNDERTOOK TO REPORT TO TOKYO.

2. WE PROVIDED HIM WITH DETAILS OF OUR QUOTA FOR QUOTE BOAT PEOPLE UNQUOTE IE CUT OF THE QUOTA OF 116, 82 APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED: ANOTHER 8 APPLICATIONS ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION. WE ALSO GAVE HIM APPROX TOTAL FIGURE OF 660 INDO-CHINESE WHO HAVE BEEN

GRANTED ASYLUM IN UK SINCE 1975.

3. JAPANESE EMBASSY ARE CLEARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RECENT PRESS REPORTS OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES PERISHING IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA BECAUSE GOVERNMENTS ARE REFUSING TO GIVE THEM TEMPORARY ASYLUM. HAMANO SAID TOKYO WERE TAKING THE PROBLEM MUCH MORE SERIOUSLY

THAN HITHERTO.

4. IF YOU JUDGE IT WOULD HELP, PLEASE ACT AS IN PARA 3 OF YOUR REF TEL AND REPORT REACTION. YOU COULD ADD ORALLY THE ADDITIONAL POINT MADE TO HAMANO THAT HONG KONG HAS BEEN GIVING TEMPORARY SHIP'S UNDERLINE FOLLOWING WORD FIRST PORT OF CALL. WAS HONG KONG:

/IN SUCH

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