TNAG-1068-FCO40-1318-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1981 — Page 13

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RiRbme

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70

27.8.8.

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Our reference: IMG/79 58/1026/110 Your reference:

RD Clift Esq

Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Clift

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

WP

6 August 1981

нки 243/2

RECEIVED TA BOOMITRY NO. 51

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- 7 AUG 1981

DESK OFFICES

INDEX

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

no n2?. 1600 26/5

Hong Kong telegram 670 of 15 July was copied to me on the "Boat People" distribution and requested authority to select the further 244 refugees to fill the United Kingdom quota. The Department of Trade has requested that they be consulted before any such decision is taken but I have not heard from any other quarter.

As you are aware the reception centres in this country are being wound up and the Joint Committee for Refugees from Vietnam do not expect to be able to call forward the "boat rescues' and the 238 refugees already selected in Hong Kong until September/ October. There seems no point therefore in considering further selection, (apart, of course, from the family reunion cases), until such time as reception places become once

more available.

When I spoke recently to Mr Bridge of the Hong Kong Immigration Department, he indicated that it was not fully appreciated in Hong Kong that the constraint on take-up of the 1,000 quota has been all along, and is now, places in reception centres. We have always had more refugees ready selected than places available here and selection policy has not been a brake upon take-off. As there appears to have been some confusion, and even resentment that the United Kingdom has been slowing down over the last part of the quota, I hope you can emphasise that selection is still well ahead of places. There may be reasons for slowing down over the last 200 or so but we shall be very ready to discuss the position with Hong Kong when we are nearer to taking off those who have already been selected.

You will know that the Hong Kong authorities themselves have been apprehensive that once our 10,000 quota is entirely filled it would be impossible to prevent emergence of a decision on whether there should be a further quota, the chances of which are remote in the extreme. There is also the desirability of keeping some leeway in the quota to avoid having to chose between giving Hong Kong a guarantee for boat rescues,which would compromise the line the United Kingdom government takes towards other countries, and declining to give such a guarantee,which would understandably embarrass Hong Kong.

(WP)

I should also mention that paragraph 5(c) of Hong Kong telegram 588 of 15 June about the MV Willine Toyo caused us a little concern. We have taken the line that the Hong Kong Immigration Department are, because of their skill and knowledge of the practice of visiting selection teams from the United Kingdom, able to select any out- standing cases on our behalf without any supervision. The reference to using the