TNAG-0883-FCO40-1093-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 126

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

CONFIDENTIAL

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503

GOVERNment SECRETARIAT

240/1.51

2 € MAR 1979

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

9th March, 1979

*

Action Take 33

* OUR REF.:

CR 2/4821/75

* YOUR Ref.:

INDEX

PA

Mr. R. J. T. McLaren

по

Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH

7263

See (551)

2.

ENGLAND

Dear Robin.

Mr Murray

Ms Simons,

Mr Qu

SEAT)

mehra R 2673

Mr Williamson J3

PA.

We had a useful visit from De Haan, Deputy UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and his team. Whilst here, he toured the UNHCR administered camps and visited the Kai Tak Detention Centre and the Sky Luck.

2.

Our discussions covered an account of his talks with the Vietnamese on the controlled departure scheme, the ASEAN scheme for developing a transit centre, the acceptance of boat people from North Vietnam by UNHCR, the need to try to accelerate departures from Hong Kong, finance and management for refugee camps and the need to strengthen the UNHCR presence here.

3.

You will already be aware of the outlines of the discussions with the Vietnamese authorities. De Haan seemed optimistic that this 'fragile scheme', as he described it, would reduce the number of departures, especially in large boats. He admitted that its success would depend upon the speed with which those who registered in Vietnam could be matched against lists from resettle- ment countries with the UNHCR office (which is to be established) at Hanoi acting as a broker. He claimed that resettlement countries had responded to the scheme, but that places offered under it would not be at the expense of refugees already in the area.

4.

Our assessment is that De Haan is more optimistic than the evidence which we have of continuing possible trafficking justifies. But we were all agreed that the proof of this pudding will be in the eating. De Haan admitted that he thought there would be a continuing outflow of small boat refugees. He also accepted that whilst the outflow from Vietnam since the latter part of last year had been reduced, Hong Kong was receiving an increasingly large proportion of those leaving Vietnam.

5.

We explained that because of the pressure on accommodation for refugees either the Government had to provide it on behalf of UNHCR, or else refugees would have to be released to UNHCR for them to find accommodation for them. We explained that there was growing political restlessness about the numbers of refugees and that we had to find accommodation for about 8-10, 000 people to release those now in detention and in the Sky Luck. De Haan said that the UNHCR would be prepared to receive a recommendation from us as to how the cost of such camps should

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