TNAG-0793-FCO40-997-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 251

/H CR

BY BAG

CR 2/4821/75 VI

P MORGAN ESQ

UN DEPARTMENT

FCO

CONFIDENTIAL

with me

UND have cleared reply with

241

18 October 1978

PAS_2510

REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM IN HONG KONG

OCTOBER SITREP

HKK 243/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 2 5 OCT 1978

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

No of

RED TRY

Action Ten

I am about to visit Peking and other places in China for about 12 days and feel it is time to give you à roundup on a number of aspects of the Vietnamese refugee problem here. First, however, I should like to record our gratitude to you for keeping the "WELL PARK" refugees well away from us. we realise the strain which the arrival of this group must have placed on resources in the L K but we also take some comfort from the thought, I hope accurate, that this vill have brought the overall problem of refugees in Vietnam into greater prominence and that as a result the difficulties we face here may be more widely appreciated in the UK.

UNHCR Presence in Hong Kong

2.

or

You will have been aware from earlier correspondence of our concern (fully shared by the Americans) at the efficiency of the U N/operation here. At one stage the UNHCR were 1,000 behind in processing refugees while the US Consulate- General were completely up to date. We made a number of points to Homann-Herimberg when he was here and one result of that was a slightly pained letter from Sampatkumar in Kuala Lumpur. I enclose this together with my reply. In fact, the position has nov improved in that Chris Carpenter is about to leave (going back to Kuala Lumpur) and his temporary replacement, Nicholas Morris (U KM IS Geneva telno. 787 to you

telno. 787 to you not to all) arrived three days ago. Morris seems a good choice and He gives the impression

is more dynamic than Carpenter.

CONFIDENTIAL

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