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COME STIAL
Mr Wall
NOTE OF A MEETING, HELD ON TUESDAY, 17 JULY 1979
HKK 243
INDO-CHINESE - RELUCREŞ
27 Presents
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recording meeting
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M. Mem
CC PS
Ps/ups
PS/M, Blace
The Home Secretary
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as fany mante
The.Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary
19/7
Sir Murray McLehose (Governor of Hong Kong)
Mr. Woodfield
-Mr. Wall
Mr. Chilcot
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5000 ткой
News
Planning Staff
PULSO Punit
The meeting was called to discuss the phasing of the quote of 10,000 refugees which H.M. Government had decided to receive into the United Kingdom to settle, and which would be announced on the following day.
?. Sir Murray MacLehose expressed his concern that only if the British Government were seen to be doing what the international community expected of it would the United States Government agree to do substantially more in the way of receiving Indo-Chinese refugees temporarily in Hong Kong. The difference might be as much as some 2,000 to 3,000 additional refugees per month.
It would be extremely helpful
in bringing that about, and in terms of the political situation in Hong Kong, if the aim could be to achieve a rate of admission of, say, 500 refugees per month into the United Kingdom (between 1/5th and 1/4 of the projected rate of admission into the United States from Hong Kong) once the scheme was in full swing and for a period thereafter. If there were difficulties of resettlement, or political difficulties, later on in the pro- gramme, there would be time to reconsider the flow rate. In the meantime, the Hong Kong Government would be ready to help in preparing refugees for reception by way of initial language training and, if this were desired, in the selection process, with the aim of bringing forward refugees with a good chance of early absorption into the community, thereby easing the burden of resettlement. In addition, the Hong Kong Government would be prepared to do all it could to assist the work of the voluntary agencies now operating in Hong Kong.
3.
The Home Secretary recalled the Cabinet decision that the quota of 10,000 should be spread over three years, but agreed that this left room for flexibility in the monthly rate of flow over the period. It would take two to three months to build up the rate, and further ahead there would be time for reconsider- ation before the quota ceiling was approached. In view of that,
he and the Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary agreed that while it would be premature for Ministers, when announcing the decision, to say what rate of flow or period might be involved, there would be no objection to the Governor acknowledging that the aim would be to achieve a rate of 500 refugees per month to be admitted to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong once the scheme was in full swing.
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