TNAG-1420-FCO40-1903-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 39

JM

HOME OFFICE

Lunar House Wellesley Road Croydon CR9 2BY

Telegram Immnat Croydon

S T Nash Esq

South East Asia Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

LONDON

SW 1

Telephone 01-760-2648

Please reply to The Under Secretary of State Your reference

Our reference

IMG/85

Date

58/1026/14

4 October 1985

VIETNAMESE FAMILY REUNION CASES

1.

You are aware that the Government's recently-published reply to the Home Affairs Committee's report on refugee matters accepted a recommendation that family reunion criteria be exceptionally relaxed in respect of a number of Vietnamese refugees currently in camps in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the South East Asia region. The attached correspondence seeks to establish machinery to process the Hong Kong cases.

2. You will see that there are occasional references in this correspondence to there being a need to make further enquiries about the non-Hong Kong cases. As you know from our recent telephone conversation, we have little information about these cases, beyond their numbering about 60, and their being, we believe, in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. I notice from your letter of 29 July to Mr Handley here that you have a particular interest in the Indonesian

cases.

3. Perhaps you could take this letter as simply advance warning of our need to enlist your help, when we have more information, in the processing of these 60 cases.

4.

I will write again in the light of developments.

S C WELLS

B1 Division