Minister
CONFIDENTIAL
NFID
TIAL
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VIETNAM REFUGEES
1. I called on Chas Freeman (Assistant to Ambassador Clark and China Country Director designate) for a run over the ground prior to the visit of the Governor of Hong Kong. I said I thought the Governor would certainly be interested in any possibility of adjustment in the US offtake from the area in Hong Kong's favour and also in US readiness to lend diplomatic weight to international efforts.
2. Freeman said the US intake of 7,000 a month from the area (in addition to 3,000 a month from other parts of the world) had been approved only with enormous difficulty on the appropriations side. They were well aware of Hong Kong's problem, but it was fair to say that this had become acute only in the past few months and even now represented only one-sixth of the potential registerable refugee population in the area. Another factor was that refugees reaching Hong Kong tended to be from the North and to evoke relatively less concern in the US than those from the South who had gone to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Another slightly "pernicious" reason why it had not hitherto been possible to look more favourable on Hong Kong was that where ASEAN countries were concerned the US had felt that their own readiness to offtake refugees from those countries had made it more difficult for the latter to shut their doors altogether a prospect which had not seemed a real concern in the case of Hong Kong.
3. However, Freeman went on, now that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia had effectively closed the door (and the Philippines would no doubt follow shortly), this argument no longer applied Hong Kong with the same force. They had been discussing quite extensively. within the Administration and had been receiving cables every day from the US Consul-General in Hong Kong. One possibility now under discussion (which would need to be looked at further in the light of the Governor's visit) was for a slight adjustment within the US
He did not monthly intake in favour of refugees from Hong Kong. think it would be possible to move as far as allowing Hong Kong's allocation to be proportionate to its share of the total refugee population awaiting re-settlement (ie one sixth) because of past commitments by the United States particularly in favour of refugees who had relations in the US, were former US Government employees or former South Vietnamese officials etc. Nevertheless "the door which was not open before is swinging slightly ajar".
4. Freeman said it would be a great help in this context if the UK itself could agree to do more. The United States had taken close on 300,000 refugees from Indo-China in the last five years, whereas the UK figure, according to his information, was in the region of 1,800. If the UK. could not take more at home, perhaps there were areas of UK influence, eg Belize or even (though he hesitated
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