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HKK 243 947
RELIVED IN
GR 13 0
CONFIDENTIAL
DESK BY 6414992
FM SINGAPORE 841260Z JUNE 79
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
CONFIDENTIAL
TELEGRAM NUMBER 180 OF 04 JUNE
AND TO IMMEDIATE WASHINGTON, HONG KONG.
MIPT
Bl
THIS IS A COPY
THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED UNTIL
UNDER FOI
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: TALK WITH LEE KUAN YEWEXEMPTION NO. 27 a, cd..
I HAD NINETY MINUTES WITH LEE THIS AFTERNOON, FIFTY OF THEM
ON THE REFUGEE PROBLEM.
2.
HE BEGAN BY ASKING IF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT REALLY KNEW THE TROUBLE THEY WERE LAYING UP FOR THEMSELVES. DID THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING?
3 IN REPLY I DESCRIBED THE..ACTIONS LISTED IN YOUR TELEGRAM MO 126 TO KUALA LUMPUR. I SAID, TOO, THAT WE WERE IN TOUCH WITH CUR NATO AND EEC PARTNERS, AND WERE CONSULTING, THROUGH THEIR HEADS OF MISSION IN LONDON OR DIRECTLY, ALL COUNTRIES WE JUDGED MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN MANAGING THIS PROBLEM EITHER BY APPLYING PRESSURE ON THE VIETNAMESE OR BY ACCEPTING REFUGEES OR BY INCREASING THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNHCR, I SAID THAT WE HAD A PARTICULAR CONCERN AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR HONG KONG, WHERE THERE WERE NOW 41,493 REFUGEES AWAITING RESETTLEMENT, 39,800 OF WHOM HAD ARRIVED THIS YEAR, HALF OF THEM IN THE LAST MONTH. AGAINST THAT THE 3,400 WHO HAVE LEFT FOR RESETTLEMENT THIS YEAR WERE A DROP IN THE OCEAN. HONG KONG'S PROBLEMS WERE EXACERBATED BY THE INFLOW OF LEGAL AND ILLEGAL REFUGEES FROM CHINA, WHO
IT WAS AGAINST VERE ARRIVING AT A RATE OF ABOUT 7,000 A MONTH. THIS BACKGROUND THAT HMG HAD APPEALED TO THE TAIWANESE AUTHORITIES TO STAND BY THE PRINCIPLE OF LETTING REFUGEES PICKED UP AT SEA LAND AT THE RESCUING SHIP'S FIRST PORT OF CALL AND ALSO TO OPEN THEIR DOCKS TO REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM, AS OTHER COUNTRIES WITH FAR DENSER POPULATION AND WITHOUT THE ETHNIC SIMILARITY WHICH THE TAIWANEGE BORE TO THE REFUGEES FROM VIETNAME HAD DONE. IT WAS THIS CONCERN WHICH HAD INSPIRED THE PRIME
MINISTER'S MESSAGE,
CONFIDENTIAL
/ 4. I WENT
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