TNAG-0845-FCO40-1055-Visits-of-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 35

for Hong Kong in terms of influx of refugees has been perhaps

worse than it has been already ?

Mr Blaker: I saw that report. I am not sure that it was quite the emphasis

that I had intended to give in Singapore. It is believed that

there are still in Vietnam some 800,000 people of Chinese ethnic

origin and I think there were grounds some months ago for

fearing that it might be the intention of Vietnam eventually

to force all those people out. Now that would be very regrettable

and I hope that is not going to happen. I don't want to give the

impression that that is going to happen and certainly not that

it is inevitable.

The point that I wanted to make was that we have persuaded

Vietnam, and I think very largely by pressure of international

opinion, to slow down the flow of refugees very dramatically.

The number coming into Hong Kong is now one-tenth of the numbers

that have been coming in a few months ago and I think that we

should persuade Vietnam by every means available that this is a

better policy for them to follow than what she was doing in the

summer so that I hope that we would be able to persuade Vietnam

to continue the present moratorium.

Question: You've got personal connections with Hong Kong and now special

responsibility as Minister. Can I ask you what is your reaction

either personally or in your capacity as Minister to remarks by

visiting MPs, critical remarks that Hong Kong is a police state

and the people are oppressed and that sort of thing. What is

your reaction ?

Mr Blaker: I haven't heard that particular remark about Hong Kong being a

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police state contributed to the three MPs who recently have been

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