TNAG-0975-FCO40-1194-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1980 — Page 18

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4.

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INFORMATION BRANCH

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

布政司署新聞科

New World

1710 American International Tower, 16-18 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-211381 香港皇后大道中16-18號 友邦行1710室 電話:5-211381

Our Ref.: IB 581/2 IV

本署襠號

Ghis

Your Ref.:

來函檔號

HKED'

WED! Me Sant SEAD

29/10

2. PA.

HICK 24315 22nd October, 1980

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO.

30 OCT 1980

29.4

Mr. S.G. Eldon

DESK OFICER

PA

REGISTRY

Action Taken

British Embassy, INDEX

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 77,

5300 Bonn 1.

Dear

stuart

see (103

As you may know by now, Dr. Karl Stumpf is keeping up what he likes to call his private war with the German Government on the level of off-take to Germany of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. He recently fired off a number of telegrams to senior politicians and officials in Germany. He has now had his longest and most encouraging, reply yet from Dr. Bartels of the Auswärtiges Ministry (copy attached). I regret that we do not have here a quick facility for the translation of German, but from what I understand Dr. Bartels has said once again that there are difficulties in persuading the Laender Presidents in taking a quota of Vietnamese refugees from here. This is not in accordance with Dr. Stumpf's experience from his first-hand discussions with some of them on his trip this spring. He suspects that the one is citing the other as an excuse. I understanding that he will now be writing to the

'Regions Presidents" seeking their support.

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I might add that this activity is perhaps slightly

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outside the context of our Executive Committee for the Resettlement of Vietnamese Refugees, but we can hardly look on it with disfavour. I have a sneaking suspicion that with his unflagging energy and enthusiasm, at the end of the day Karl Stumpf will actually get something more for Hong Kong.

Yourd ever

thai haigeld

(R.C. Masefield)

for Secretary for Information

c.c. I.C. Orr APA

P.J. Williamson, HKGD, FCO