TNAG-1181-FCO40-1483-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 134

布政司署

HITES

MTK 243

3

PECTIVED PERY NO. 51

4 JUM R

(71) -in SCR 48/4821/79.

DEK

*** OUR REF.:

來函檔號 YOUR REF.:

i

(101

Security Branch

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD HONG KONG

R. D. Clift Esq.,

Hong Kong and General Department,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Sen sich

28th May, 1982

Mr. Williary from Pr. speake

Rertime

дал

124/6

Ship Rescue : M.V. Poyang, M.V. Hupeh

61

Sa (181)

Please refer to Dowse's letter 243/332/1 of 2 April to Cambridge (MVD,FCO). It has taken us longer than I would have wished to comment on this letter, because we have had to give priority to a fresh look at our refugee policy as a whole. In responding to Manila's request about the M.V. Hupeh we have taken into account the few remaining refugees from another ship, the M.V. Poyang.

The M.V. Poyang like the M.V. Hupeh is a Hong Kong owned but British registered ship. As you know, in merchant shipping terms, Hong Kong is a port of registry like any other United Kingdom port. There is therefore no legal distinction between a ship registered in Hong Kong and ship registered in a port in the British Isles. As with the Hupeh, attempts have been made to resettle as many as possible of those who arrived in Hong Kong on board the Poyang. The Poyang arrived on 2 July, 1981 with 42 refugees on board. Of these 27 remain.

Ship rescue cases involving British ships are treated on a case by case basis. This causes us some difficulty with other flag countries from whom we demand an unconditional guarantee of removal within 3 months for refugees rescued by their ships.

All possibility of resettling the 42 refugees remaining from these two British registered ships now appears exhausted. The only alternatives for them are resettlement in Hong Kong or resettlement in the United Kingdom. The arguments against resettlement in Hong Kong are that:

(a) the whole basis of our refugee policy since 1979

has been that Hong Kong is a place of first asylum and not a place of resettlement:

(b) A breach of this policy would increase the

difficulties we are now having with local public opinion and Unofficials over UNHCR inability to find resettlement places. Indeed the refugee population in Hong Kong has now started to increase.

289

/ (c)