R
ry
No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
MESSAGE
DRAFT
Type 1 +
To:-
His Excellency
Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Frime Minister of Singapore
DSR 11
From
pume Minister
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
My colleagues and I are deeply worried at the huge
burden the Vietnamese Government are throwing on the rest
of the world by exporting their unwanted population in
conditions of total misery and sometimes death. The
figures of boat people now mostly of Chinese race -
who have sought havens in nearby countries are appalling.
I am particularly concerned for Hong Kong where the
pressure of new arrivals has aggravated the serious
situation caused by legal and illegal immigration from
China.
I have little doubt that the flood of refugees from
Vietnam will continue, if only because the Vietnamese seem
determined to push out all their Chinese. Many of these
will try to reach Hong Kong. In addition we can expect
British ships to rescue more of these unhappy people at
sea and we shall wish to honour our obligations to save
lives in peril. Some countries have already taken many
refugees. Nevertheless there are countries like Taiwan
who have adamantly refused to admit them, although these countries have plenty of space.
/I
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