TNAG-0897-FCO40-1107-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 208

香港總督府

CONFIDENTIAL

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page of the encloses what was said about Vietnam when Vice President Mondale the wrong was here from 13 September.

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separately to Hugh Cortazzi about is obviously

Refugees

2.

I took him to see the Shamshuipo refugee camp which clearly shook him and made the point that with the current rate of arrivals and projected rate of departures, including departures to the US, the present numbers would not be reduced by much more than 2,000 by the end of the year. This would put Hong Kong in by far the worst position in Asia outside Thailand. He said that the Americans must try to do more. I said I knew they would when their other commitments allowed and that otherwise I would have pressed him more strongly. I am sure that this rather soft line is the best to take until the comparative numbers here and elsewhere carry a clearer message.

document.

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3. I told the Vice President that we were despatching two people from the voluntary agencies to beat up support for sponsorships in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. He said that this was just the sort of action that was most helpful to the Administration.

4. Later I gave Richard Holbrooke a brief on the refugee position, a copy of which I enclose.

Textiles

5. I gave Holbrooke the enclosed aide memoire on the US/Hong Kong Textile Agreement and the recent pressure from the administration to make more restrictive amendments. He said this might help him to do something for us, and it was agreed that if asked on the record whether the textile issue had been raised in Hong Kong, the answer would be that it had.

6. He told me that in the Chinese Textile Agreement we could rest assured that it would have no affect on US obligations under the US/Hong Kong Textile Agreement, and that if asked at his press conference, the Vice President would say so on the record. He was asked and did so speak.

RJT McLaren Esq

Hong Kong and General Department

FCO

CONFIDENTIAL

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