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1. The problem of stemming the flow of "legal" immigrants into Hong Kong is the most serious and pressing issue we must pursue with the Chinese. I agree generally with the Department's advice, particularly with the view that the warning about controls on the Hong Kong side should be made in a way which does not commit us to any particular action or timetable. On the other hand, because of the gravity of the issue, and the fact that the Secretary of State raised it personally with the Chinese Foreign Minister, I think we should underline its importance by instructing Mr Craddock to insist on seeing Mr Huang Hua personally. This will certainly not
be impossible: other Ambassadors see him. It would also be logical in view of the level of discussion in London.
2.
The other two matters arise out of the Secretary of State's instructions for the UNHCR meeting on Indo China Refugees which started in Geneva this morning: see the Private Secretary's minute of 8 December. In reverse order, these are to urge the Chinese to stop passing on their ethnic-Chinese refugees from Vietnam to Hong Kong and to look at the question of asking the Chinese to do more in taking refugees. It seems right, As Mr Craddock confirms in Peking telegram No 893, that he should cover the first of these questions when he sees the Chinese Foreign Minister; it is
How we part and parcel of the Hong Kong immigration problem. tackle the second point will depend on the outcome from Geneva: though I am inclined to think that any general exhortation to the Chinese to be more receptive to ethnic-Chinese from Vietnam ought to be made in the first instance in London, because we can speak with more authority about the Geneva meeting than Mr Craddock could do at one further remove. This said, I am rather doubtful whether the Chinese will be at all responsive in the light of their accusations published to-day that the Vietnamese have just expelled 2,000 ethnic-Chinese northwards into China (by the same token we might say at a convenient moment that we would take strong exception to any of this group being pushed forward to Hong Kong).
3. The right time to summon the Chinese Ambassador in London about the general refugee problem will be next week, by which time
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