TNAG-0880-FCO40-1090-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 119

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CONFIDENTIAL

1. Lord Gomawl Roberts

My

Mr Luard

16/1 Bl

Mr Cartazzi Mr MURRAY ur hias. Mi Weir SEAD IIKSA

GOD

Mer MUD

News Dept.

010

No 167.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UNS 243/3.

London SW1A 2AH

16 January 1979

50

P. 4. Un 16/1

Thank you for your letter of 9 January in reply to my minute of

6 December. I am most grateful for your agreement to admit to the UK a further 1,500 Vietnamese refugees.

Since early December, the refugee situation as it affects Hong Kong has deteriorated further. There are now some 5,000 "boat refugees" there awaiting resettlement, not including the 2,700 aboard the HUEY FONG who may, for humanitarian reasons, need to be landed soon. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has himself appealed to us to ask the Hong Kong Government to allow the HUEY FONG refugees to land. Given, therefore, the pressing need to alleviate the increasing burden on the Colony, I propose that the 1,500 be reallocated as follows: 1,000 from Hong Kong and 250 each from Thailand and Malaysia. I take the point that your officials will need to be closely involved in the selection process.

My officials will, as you suggest, prepare a paper for circulation within OCR. They will also liaise with yours over an announcement of the intake of 1,500.

I am copying this to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, your HS colleagues and Sir John Hunt.

Caver

young

(DAVID OWEN)

The Rt Hon Merlyn Rees MP

CONFIDENTIAL