TNAG-0888-FCO40-1098-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 4

CONFIDENTIAL

954

HKK 243/1

RELEIVED IN KEÜ'STAY NO. 51

- 7 JUN1979

PESK OFFICER

INC

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

PA

по 21.6

Dear Byzan.

REGISTRY Action Taken

ке

4 June 1979

~Willing 27.6.

Vietnamese Refugees: Recall of Governor of Hong Kong

дочь

It was agreed at the Prime Minister's meeting on 29 May that the Governor of Hong Kong should be recalled to London for consultations about the problem of the Vietnamese refugees (your letter of 29 May refers).

He

We have now arranged for Sir Murray MacLehose to return to London on Wednesday 13 June for consultations on 14 and 15 June. will, of course, be seeing the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and other FCO Ministers, and we are hoping to arrange meetings with Ministers at the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. I should be grateful to know whether the Prime Minister would also wish to see him. Lord Carrington believes it would be very useful if Mrs Thatcher could find time to do so: the Hong Kong Government are coming under increasing local criticism because of their apparent helplessness in the face of the refugee problem, and it would help the Governor considerably if he could say on his return that he had been able to speak to the Prime Minister in person. The Governor would, of course, stay on if, the Prime Minister were unable to see him next week. We propose to /announce the Governor's visit at tomorrow's FCO news conference on the

lines of the attached draft.

I am sending copies of this letter to Tony Butler (Home Office), Roger Facer (Ministry of Defence), and Martin Vile (Cabinet Office).

eve,

You

Stephan

(J S Wall)

Private Secretary

Bryan G Cartledge Esq 10 Downing Street LONDON

CONFIDENTIAL