TNAG-1182-FCO40-1484-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 59

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4.

1

Finally, the health of the Hong Kong/UK relationship needs to be borne in mind. As you know, public opinion in Hong Kong has been disappointed that HMG has not been more helpful in resettling refugees from Hong Kong, and there have been a number of other issues, such as the Nationality Act and students' fees, that have led to a widespread feeling that the UK is distancing itself from Hong Kong. This is not a feeling that we wish to encourage, particularly at a time when there is so much speculation about the future of Hong Kong and Ministers are emphasising that HMG's commitment to Hong Kong remains undiminished.

5.

For all these reasons, I think that we should press for a commitment that HMG will accept the 42 remaining refugees from the MV Hupeh and MV Poyang. It may be counter-productive to attempt to seek a more open-ended commitment relating to all future ship-rescue cases involving UK-registered ships (including Hong Kong), but clearly we would welcome this if it was on offer.

11 August 1982

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RJ F Hoare

Hong Kong and General Department WH 312

233 4439