Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
HKK243/1
RECEIVED
100
CES
Telephone 01-23-243/13
No
539
M E Pellew Esq
British Embassy
Rome
Your reference
Our reference
UNS 243/13
Date
9 April, 1979
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1.
Brian Smith has passed me a copy of your letter to him of 19 March about the Italian Government's aid to Vietnamese refugees. 2. I was interested to see that the Italians are studying "other emergency measures" to help refugees from Indo-China and should be glad if you would let me know, in due course, what these measures will be. In the meantime, we should be grateful if you would mention to the Italians, if a suitable opportunity occurs, the seriousness of the refugee problem in Hong Kong. On 19 January, our telno 36 to Canberra noted that the number of refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement elsewhere was "over 5,000". There are now over 17,000 and the number is growing daily. If the Italians do decide to admit a further quota of refugees from Indo-China, we very much hope they will sympathetically consider drawing some of them from Hong Kong.
3. I am copying this letter, and taking the liberty of copying yours under reference, to lain Orr in Hong Kong and to David Snoxell in UKMis Geneva.
cc (with enc)
I C Orr Esq
Government Secretariat Hong Kong
DR Snoxell Esq
UKMis Geneva
(without enc) HK and GD
SEAD
P Morgan
UN Department
1
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