Hick 24314
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 3 1 MAR 1980
OF CER
REGISTRY
21
March 1980 PA
Action Taken
мо
841.3 AM 316
(N.I.R)
Thank you very much for your letter of 10 March. We were delighted to see you again in Hong Kong and to have another opportunity to discuss the problem of Vietnamese refugees.
I am most grateful for your assurance that you will keep in view the particular situation of Hong Kong, and that you and your colleagues in UNHCR, in the course of your efforts to find solutions to the refugee problem in South East Asia, will endeavour to ensure a resettlement rate of departure from Hong Kong which will be fully satisfactory to us.
Much has been achieved since Geneva; but, as you know, our fear is that Hong Kong's refugee problem could recede into the background of the world's attention in the face of newer developments and more urgent headlines. Some immediacy is added to this because the change of wind in May is likely to bring to Hong Kong a far greater proportion of the 3,000-odd boat refugees a month currently leaving Vietnam. The situation would be made very much worse if there were any relaxation of Vietnam's preventive measures. In either case, if intake once more exceeded off-take, and at the time the numbers of boat people here still substantially exceeded those in other East Asian countries, it could have very serious repercussions in Hong Kong; not least the possibility of our population turning against the refugees.
Once more I must say most warmly how good it was to see you again and how grateful we are for your own personal efforts and those of UNHCR on behalf of Hong Kong.
Poul Hartling Esq
The High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
bcc: HKGD, FCO
UKMIS, Geneva
26
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.