TNAG-1275-FCO40-1625-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 150

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK243/3 1982@

Mr Partridge, MVD

cc: SEAD

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

1.

pa (Resettlement) 75's

HKK 243/2

RECEIVED A 125)(NO. $1

DESK

INDUK

- 8 MAR 1983

Thank you for your minute of 25 February.

REGISTRY (Action Taken

GH83

I am sorry

that you were not consulted on that part of our submission of 19 January which covered the possibility of further UK concessions for Vietnamese refugees. Your advice would clearly have been helpful. I nevertheless feel that you are absolutely right when you suggest that the Home Office reply would have been the same no matter how we couched the terms of our approach to them.

2. I take your point that it was not the best of times to raise an issue of immigration with the Home Office. But can

1

1

one ever find the 'right' time to raise such an issue? As far as Anglo-Hong Kong relations are concerned, it certainly was the right time. Hong Kong face an increasingly intractable problem with Vietnamese refugees and it is important, at a. time of some delicacy in our relations with the territory, that we should explore (and be seen to do so) every avenue in our efforts to help them. Nevertheless it is obviously very important that your department should be brought into discussion of this matter. We will do so in future.

Дир

37

See 36)

2 March 1983

CONFIDENTIAL

RD Clift

Hong Kong and General Department

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