TNAG-1068-FCO40-1318-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1981 — Page 24

CONFIDENTIAL

British Embassy

PEKING

1 July 1981

DA

64

IC Orr Esq APA HONG KONG

Dear lain

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1.

HICK 243/2

RECEIVED IN FLOWSTRY MO. 51

8 JUL 1981

REUSTRY Action Takan

DESK OFFICER INDEX

PA

я

flis 87

I had lunch with Jacques Mouchet the other day, just before he left Peking on leave. We discussed inter alia the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees from China. Mouchet said that those refugees whom UNHCR sent via Hong Kong to their resettlement destination had in the past been allowed to take the through train to Hung Hom station. There they would be met by UNHCR representatives, and taken to the airport for their onward flight. Mouchet claimed that under such an arrangement, UNHCR could guarantee that the refugees would not spend a night in Hoà Kong.

2. Now that such refugees (other than those going to the United Kingdom) must travel to Lo Wu to get their transit visas, with the attendant delay of clearing formalities there and then travelling from Do Wu into the city, Mouchet said that it was no longer possible to get

the refugees into and out of Hong Kong in one day

made UNHCR's burden much greater.

る。

This

I explained to Mouchet Hong Kong's policy on transitees

from China. He seemed to feel strongly that, since UNHCR would take responsibility for these people and could guarantee that they would not spend the night in Hong Kong, a special case should be made. I gathered that he would probably be recommending to the UNHCR office in Hong Kong that they should argue their case with Immigration Department He did not ask me to take up the matter.

lows over

Bob

R N Peirce

CC

P Williamson Esq UKMIS GENEVA

HKGD

FCO

CONFIDENT: AL