TNAG-0972-FCO40-1191-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 58

BRB (Revised)

CONFIDENTIAL

(Revised)

DRAFT: Xшt/letter/telektor/espatch/te

FROM:

Sir E Youde

DEPARTMENT:

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

TO:

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

TEL. NO:

Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO Governor and Commander-in-Chief HONG KONG

TYPE: Draft/Final 1+

Reference

Your Reference

Copies to:

Sir Oliver Wright

GCVO KCMG DSC BONN.

PRIVACY MARKING

.In Confidence

CAVEAT.

Enclosures-flag(s)...........

SUBJECT:

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

1. In your letter of 15 May to Donald Murray you

suggested that there should be a political approach,

perhaps by the Secretary of State, to encourage the

Germans to take more refugees from Hong Kong.

2. We have looked very carefully at this in the light

of Oliver Wright's letter. of 9 June and your telegram

No 807 of 26 June. There is, however, a real problem.

Oliver Wright sees it as essential that we can

demonstrate that our own record over refugees from

South-East Asia as a whole is at least as good as and

preferably better than the FRG's. I am sure that this

is right. The trouble is that the figures show that the

Germans have done better than us.

They have taken

some 13,750 against our 9,500 since the outflow began.

We would therefore need to be on strong ground in

asking the Secretary of State (or another Minister)

to take this up with Herr Genscher at present. We would

risk exposing him to criticism of our own effort which

would be difficult to rebut.

:

CONFIDENTIAL

/3.