TNAG-0974-FCO40-1193-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1980 — Page 179

Nico!

UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS

WASHINGTON

March 8, 1980

I have reviewed your recent inquiry regarding the number of refugees to be resettled from Hong Kong to the United States. I wish to assure you that for some months it has been our intention to either resettle directly to the United States or transfer!' to the Refugee Processing Center (RPC) at Bataan, the Philippines, an average of 2,000 refugees per month from Hong Kong.

I recognize that the United States has not met this objective for each recent month. The necessity to divert resettlement opportunities to Thailand when that nation was confronted with the influx of displaced persons from Kampuchea, when combined with unforeseen delays in the planning and construction of the RPC, have made it impossible to meet this objective.

am hopeful, however, that additional construction at the Bataan RPC, which will raise its capacity to 30,000, will be completed by the end of May. This would allow the United States to increase the current rate of transfers from Hong Kong to the facility, so that the average rate of direct resettlements plus transfers to the RPC will be 2,000 per month in the December 1979 to May 1980 period.

I wish to assure you that the commitment of Hong Kong to the principle of first asylum will be reflected in a continuing United States effort to resettle or transfer substantial numbers of refugees from Hong Kong.

I remain,

ZARA

Sincerely,

Daril

David D. Newsom

His Excellency

Sir Nicholas Henderson, G.C.M.G., Ambassador of Great Britain,

Washington, D. C.