TNAG-1068-FCO40-1318-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1981 — Page 150

PAY CONFIDENTIAL O

HOME OFFICE

Lunar House Wellesley Road Croydon CR9 2BY

P J Williamson Esq

Telephone 01-586R3sekt

or

Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Offide

LONDON

SW1

FKK 243/2 *RY NO. 51

13 FEB 1981

PESK OFFICER

INDEX Your referer

No

MS;

3.

π

Our reference

REGJUT SY

[Action Taken

flo 13/2

IMG/81 53/62/1

Date

12 February 1981

Dear Willemson Jes

J13.2

see

PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES, 25-28 FEBRUARY

Thank you for the sight of the draft defensive brief on Vietnamese refugees.

5

We do not feel that the draft adequately reflects the efforts of the United Kingdom to assist in this problem and would propose the following amendments to the background notes:

Paragraph 3: delete first sentence and substitute

"About 8500 Vietnamese refugees have arrived in the United Kingdom from Hong Kong out of the quota of 10,000 announced in July 1979 (and about 1000 arrived before then). A team is due to leave the UK for Hong Kong on 27 February to complete selection for the quota. There is a continuing commitment to accept family reunion cases and 2,000 Vietnamese still in Vietnam have so far been guaranteed visas. The resettlement programme in the UK is facing practical difficulties in relation to housing and employment. Lord Carrington will review the need for a further commitment from Hong Kong during his visit at the end of March."

Yours se

Dancerely

SPENCE

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