TNAG-0972-FCO40-1191-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 135

SCR 1/46 SF 'A' V

General

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK 24314

LIC HONG KONG

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

-

Copy No. 2 of 24 copies Page No 1 of 3 pages Ras

JANUARY 1980

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Although Vietnamese Ministers and officials have continued to assure

visiting foreign and U.N. representatives that the moratorium on semi-official

departures is permanent, there are indications that the Vietnamese Government

hopes to rid itself of its ethnic Chinese. An exception to the official

Vietnamese line came when two Canadian officials were told in Hanoi by the

Director General of the Consular Affairs Department in the MFA that, unless

resettlement countries expanded their programmes to receive controlled departures,

Vietnam was ready to expel a further 600000 by boat.

2.

Ethnic Vietnamese with access to fishing boats continued to flee in January and comprise the majorityof arrivals in countries of first asylum since

the moratorium. The repatriation to China of 3,620 Vietnamese Chinese who

entered Hong Kong from China by boat since July 1979, falsely claiming to have

come direct from Vietnam, appears to have deterred others from trying. In

addition China appears to have taken stronger measures to prevent them leaving.

3.

The weather during January in the South China Sea was strongly

affected by the northeast monsoon, making travel by small boat risky. However,

four small boats with a total of 99 refugees (95 ethnic Vietnamese and 4

ethnic Chinese) reached Hong Kong, via Hainan Island, from Da Nang and Hue

in Central Vietnam. The four Chinese (with a group of 58 ethnic Vicinamese)

were the first such arrivals since 10 arrived in October and 378 in September.

One boat was a sea-going motorised fishing boat and the other three were

motorised narrow-beamed river boats. No boats from China arrived but three

boats probably from China, with 52 aboard, were accepted by Macau for

resettlement overseas.

Reports from Vietnam

4.

Ethnic Vietnamese interviewed during January have said that

many of their acquaintances will try to leave by fishing boat once the monsoon

moderates. There are about 9 to 15 boats preparing to leave from Da Nang and

at least three from Hue. A 30 metre steel boat is expected to leave Qui Nhon

in February. One refugee had seen

nic Chinese near Bac Lieu

CONFIDENTIAL

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