was'
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from Hong Kong was no greater than for refugees in an RPC elsewhere. It would also need very careful handling with local public opinion.
6.
Bellocchi said he would mull this over. He also admitted that the US Consulate-General here have no clear idea of the type of guarantee which refugees transferred to an RPC will be given. Could you please .seek clarification of this point from Shepherd Lowman in
the State Department and ask him whether such a guarantee could be used in Hong Kong in a way not open to the objections which we see to an RPC here?
An RPC in China
7.
Bellocchi also brought up the subject of a possible RPC in China, referring to some informal discussions I had at the Jakarta meeting with Lowman. In trying to steer Lowman away from the idea of a Hong Kong RPC I had suggested that the Americans would do better to consider one in China, while emphasising that I thought the chances of the Chinese agreeing to such a proposal were fairly remote. In response to Lowman's request for ideas on how such a scheme might be presented in a way which might interest the Chinese, I gave him a brief outline in the form of an informal aide-memoire (copy attached), emphasising that these were very tentative thoughts on the subject.
8.
Bellocchi had received a copy of this informal aide-memoire (I pointed out an error in paragraph II 1: US$5.5 million was, in fact, the amount UNHCR would save by such a scheme: the amount of foreign exchange China would earn would be about US$1.8 million) and said Lowman was interested in pursuing the idea but would expect us or HMG to take the initiative. I told Bellocchi that we would first wish to know how the Chinese responded to any proposals Hartling had put to them (our telegram no 628 of 24 May to FCO, which we had discussed with the US Consulate-General), adding that we had been dismayed that UNHCR had not discussed these with us first.
In any event, the political and practical problems of trans- ferring refugees to a communist country would make it essential for UNHCR to take the lead in putting any proposals to the Chinese, though only after consultation with us and the Americans. Furthermore, we do not think it would be tactically wise on our part to get involved at this stage in discussions with the Chinese which might divert their attention from our even more pressing need to secure their co-operation in reducing the numbers of illegal and legal immigrants.
/contd..
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3.
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