TNAG-0886-FCO40-1096-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 160

CONFIDENTIAL

3. (contd)

departure could be adjusted as the inflow increased, Ambassador Clark said this would certainly be so. The US hạa med to give Malaysia high numbers because of the high rate of arrival in Rovember and December 1978. No long-term commitment could be given to any country on precise numbers since these would have to HE said vary as the focus of the problen changed. that these assurances on flexibility of numbers vere of great importance to Hong Kong. We feared numbers

As numbers could quickly increase to 10,000 a month. built up there were dangers of real racial tension unless it could be shown that there was a significent monthly outflov. At present arrivals were increasing and departures declining. For the first three months of 1979 the imbalance was about 7 to 1.

Proposed Controlled Departure Scheme

4.

There was no evidence that anything useful had yet developed out of Mr de llaan's visit to Hanoi. Ambassador Clark agreed. He would be discussing this

It vas with Mr de Haan in Washington about 1 May. essential that any scheme should cover more than simply family reunions. The US had already given UNHCR several hundred family reunion cases some months ago but nothing had happened. There was no evidence of Vietnamese seriousness and he had little confidence that much would happen.

UNHCR, Hong Kong

5.

In Hong Kong it was essential that there should be an early decision by UNHCR about refugees still in detention. It was extraordinary that elsewhere the US and the UNHCR made every effort to persuade governments to hand over refugees to U NHCR, while in Hong Kong it was the Government which was urging U NHCR to register refugees. It was also absurd that the existing camp and current building plans of the UNHCR office only allowed accommodation for 17,000 when there

He sav no were already 21,000 refugees in Hong Kong. reason why there should be delay in deciding on those who had come via China and he saw no difficulty about their being eligible for the US programme unless it was clear that they had been resettled for very long periods in China. Those who had been in China for a few months and then gone back on boats presented no great problem. The US would be Tiberal in its interpretation of who were eligible for the current programme.*

* Note:

the underlining is to emphasise that US officials are on record as excluding from the boat refugee programme people who cross by land from Vietnam to China even if they subsequently arrive by boat in Hong Kong.

CONFIDENTIAL

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