TNAG-1420-FCO40-1903-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 15

Chancery MONTEVIDEO

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Telephone 01-

Pa SCORR

2911

Моналниот

Your reference

Our reference

Date

11 October 1985

Jo Chaney

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG:

RESPONSE BY HMG TO REPORT OF HOME

AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE ON RACE RELATIONS AND IMMIGRATION (SCORRI)

1. You will have received saving FCO guidance telno 125 of 23 September on HMG's response to the SCORRI report and setting out action to be taken by Posts to persuade other governments to resettle refugees from Hong Kong.

2.

I have been advised by WED that this guidance should not go saving to Buenos Aires, because it will then be read by the Swiss. Switzerland is a possible resettlement country for Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong (our Embassy in Berne has already approached the Swiss Government), and we would not want the Swiss to be privy to the background to our approach.

3.

I understand from WED that it is possible for you to make available to BIS Buenos Aires the contents of Confidential material which we do not want to be read by the Swiss. Could I ask you therefore to show guidance telno 125 to a member of BIS Buenos Aires when they next call on you?

4.

Given the current state of our relations with Argentina, I have no reason to suppose that the Argentines will want to do us a favour over Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. Nonetheless it would be useful for BIS Buenos Aires to have the information in the guidance as background.

cc: Mr Leeks, HKD V

This ever,

Information Dept (Guidance Section)

WED

Chancery, Berne

S/T Nash

South East Asian Department

HHH 243/2

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

1 10CT 1985

CONFIDENTIAL

DESK CH

INDEX

UTRY

Taken

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