TNAG-0792-FCO40-996-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 163

I should say that within the last few days we have given an undertaking to accept refugees rescued by the United Kingdom registered ship 'Avon Forest' which has just berthed in Taipei but I cannot say at the mo cnt how many of these refugees are likely to come here.

I hope that the following table will give you the figures you need about the numbers of refugees we have accepted -

¿

Refugees here when their

countries fell and accepted as refugees

Cambodians Laotians

Vietnamese

Refugees accepted from abroad

136

48

147

Total

331

Small Boat refugees

258

Those accepted on the

strength of a tie or

connection

Cambodians

15

Chinese

4

Laotians Vietnamese

77

167

521

These figures, totalling 852, do not include any 'Avon Forest' refugees, neither do they include the 90 or more babies airlifted at the time of Saigon's fall.

Thank you for enclosing the agenda of your meeting on 5 September; Colin Birt, who might otherwise have attended has another commitment on that day and because of the seasonally heavy workload it may prove difficult for us to be represented on this occasion. I hope, nevertheless that the foregoing will be useful to you.

R A MCDOWALL