Mr Weir PS/Mr Luard
CONFIDENTIAL
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RECETED IN REGISTRY
. 51
FONG TRY
2
M.
Acrion 20
19 JAN1979
VIETNAMESE RETURTLEGE SHUET
INDEX
No
Action on!
Problem
1.
A B
C
D
PA
ɣralı jrat 1.1 QE
(i) Hong Kong tel No 74, which replies to FCO tel No 16 to
Hong Kong, asking for an indication of the Hong Kong
Government's thinking on the admission of boat refugees
to the Colony;
(ii) Hong Kong tel No 87, which sketches the scenario and
timing should the Governor allow the HUEY FONG refugees
to land (there are now believed to be 3,383 aboard, not
2,700), and asks for action with other governments to
help "get our backlog moving".
Background
2.
The Home Secretary has agreed to admit 1,500 Vietnamese former "boat refugees" to the UK (1,000 will come from the refugee resettle ment queue in Hong Kong and 250 each from camps in Malaysia and Thailand). The Home Office expect to announce the decision today or
tomorrow through the reply to an inspired PQ and the issue of a
press notice.
3. In the meantime, the Hong Kong Government are continuing with their efforts to persuade the HUEY FONG to continue its journey to its scheduled port (Kaohsiung, Taiwan). They recognise however that in the face of the continuing refusal of the master to move, partic- ularly if the weather deteriorates, humanitarian considerations may oblige them to give way and allow the refugees to land (Hong Kong tel No 109 just received envisages that this may happen on
18 January). Hong Kong, will stress that this is an exception, and that they do not wish to change their policy of applying the first- port-of-call principle to ships approaching Hong Kong with refugees
aboard.
4.
There will be no illusions, however, either here or in Hong Kon but that the policy could run into difficulties in the weeks and
་,་
/months
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