TNAG-1181-FCO40-1483-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 135

(71) in SCR 48/4821/79

- 2

(c)

(a)

To agree to resettle any refugees here when we reviewing policy preparatory to adopting a hard line while the outflow from Vietnam continues would undermine our attempts to deter further departures.

Resettling refugees in Hong Kong now would also encourage further attempts by refugees resettled in China to come to Hong Kong.

The only alternative is therefore resettlement in the United Kingdom. Before the UK quota was exhausted, ship rescue cases were counted against it. The ending of the quota does not affect the UK's responsibility for refugees rescued by British registered ships. The small effort involved in taking an additional 42 refugees would pay considerable dividends. As the problem of our remaining refugees becomes more intractable, the tendency locally to comment adversely on the UK's performance in this area grows. We do our best to explain the political and economic realities of the United Kingdom, but a small gesture of the kind proposed would be of great assistance.

I should be grateful therefore if you could approach the Home Office, drawing on the above arguments, with a view to securing a promise of resettlement for these 42 refugees. It may be helpful in your task with the Home Office to know that, according to our London office, the Home Office is showing some willingness to relax family reunion criteria. In view of this it may be disposed to consider this approach sympathetically.

I should add by way of postscript that there was a slight procedural mix up when the M.V. Poyang first arrived. A telex was sent direct by Immigration Department to the Home Office seeking resettlement in the United Kingdom for a number of those on board. This was done because of a mistaken impression that refugees on board British registered ships for whom no other resettlement opportunities were immediately available could be treated automatically as part of the quota, which had not then been exhausted. (Our telno 736 of 14 August 1981 refers).

c.c.

1

HKK 243/2

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L. M. Davies

Secretary for Security

K.F.X. Burns Esq. SEAD, FCO.

A.J. Cambridge Esq., MVD, FCO.

T.M. Dowse Esq., H. M. Embassy, Manila.

B.W. Adams Esq., UKMIS, Geneva

Hong Kong Government Office, London Director of Immigration

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