TNAG-0894-FCO40-1104-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 283

1

ANCES:

BOAT PEOPLE

PS

PS/LPS

19

PS/NO NA DLANG STREET

RECEIVES

1348

PS/MR HURD

PS/MR BLAKER

PS/PUS

SIR A DUFF

SIR A PARSONS

MR CORTAZZI

MR MURRAY

LORD N. GORDON-LENNOX

HD/UND

HD/HK & GD

HD/MVD

HD/NEWS D

HD/SEAD

HD/N AM D

HD/EESD HD/OTD

RESTRICTED

FM WASHINGTON 122014Z JULY 1979.

TO PRIORITY F C O

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1912 OF 12 JULY 1979,

No 1819.7 Mi

20

INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, UKMIS GENEVA, UKMIS NEW YORK, PEKING, INFO SAVING HANOI.

PEKING TELNO 636: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1. ADMINISTRATION CONTACTS HERE HAVE MADE NO SECRET OF THE FACT THAT THEY AGAIN RAISED THE POSSIBILITY OF A REPROCESSING CAMP IN CHINA WHEN HOLBROOKE AND PLATT VISITED PEKING A FEW DAYS AGO. THE CHINESE REPLY WAS THAT THEY HAD ALREADY ACCEPTED 200,000 REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM PERMANENTLY, WITH ANDTHER 30,000 AWAITING RESETTLEMENT, AND THAT THEREFORE IN EFFECT THEY ALREADY HAD A REPROCESSING CENTRE. REFUGEES WERE CONTINUING TO ARRIVE AT A RATE OF 10,000 PER MONTH. THEY DID NOT SEE MUCH POINT IN REPROCESSING CENTRES WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY HAVING BEEN ACCEPTED FROM ELSEWHERE AS TO PERMANENT RESETTLEMENT. PLATT HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE CHINESE DID INDEED SHOW VERY LITTLE GIVE, BEING MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN THE POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE REFUGEE PROBLEM THAN IN THE STRICTLY

HUMANITARIAN ASPECT OF RESETTLEMENT. BUT THEY AT LEAST GAVE THE

IMPRESSION OF LISTENING CAREFULLY TO THE LATEST AMERICAN IDEAS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND FINANCING OF A RENEWED REFUGEE EFFORT. ACCORDING TO PLATT, HOLBROOKE IN HIS PRESENTATION LENT WEIGHT TO THE ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE PARTICULAKROBLEM THAT THE CONTINUING REFUGEE

FLOW CAUSED TO HONG KONds

F C O PASS SAVING HANO1.

ROBINSON,