TNAG-0974-FCO40-1193-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1980 — Page 176

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NICK 243/5

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51

19 MAR 1980

PA 114.3

BRITISH EMBASSY HELSINKI

243/1

DESK OFFICER

REGISTRY

INDEX

PA

Action: T

Aw 19/3

13 March 1980

I C Orr Esq

Government Secretariat Lower Albert Road HONG KONG

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

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1. In your letter CR 12/4821/79 of 13 February, you asked whether the visit of Mr Sorsa to Hong Kong had opened any doors here to let in more refugees. The answer so far is negative.

2. As you know we received instructions in FCO telegram numbers 1 and 2 Saving (to Bonn) of 6 February to urge the Finnish authorities to adopt a more generous policy. I left full details with the supervising Under Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. His underling has now told me that for the time being it is government policy not to take any more new refugees although Finland is prepared on an ad hoc basis to admit more members of the families already settled here. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs claimed that they have had no proper feedback from the agencies responsible for settling the original 100 refugees and they think it unlikely that a fresh view of the problem would be taken before "late in the spring". I shall therefore speak again to the MFA in about one month's time to see whether they have anything new or more helpful to say.

R S Gorham

cc:

TCS Stitt Esq, SEAD, FCO DR Snoxell Esq, UKMIS, GENEVA PJ Williamson Esq, HK&GD, FCO✓

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