TNAG-1534-FCO40-2098-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1986 — Page 26

CODE 18-77

Mr Whitehead

Research Department

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference......

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: INVOLUNTARY REPATRATION

1.

2.

We spoke.

Mr Adams would welcome a paper listing the pros and cons of involuntary repatriation of Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong and of open discussion of this question, eg in an international conference. I should be grateful if you would undertake this. We and HKD would be happy to see such a paper in draft.

3. The Hong Kong Government have on several occasions raised with us the possibility of involuntary repatriation of Vietnamese refugees. This has been submitted to Ministers, who have rejected it-as politically unacceptable. We could not be sure that the Vietnamese Government would treat returnees in a humane fashion. Furthermore, there has been no indication from the Vietnamese Government that they would be prepared to receive involuntary returnees. The absence of a land border between Hong Kong and Vietnam means that any involuntary repatriation would have severe logistical problems (unlike the regular involuntary repatriation of Chinese across the border from Hong Kong to the PRC), and would doubtless incur much untoward publicity and Parliamentary criticism.

4. We recently discussed with Mr Tallboys whether we should reopen the question of involuntary repatriation to Vietnam. The result of our discussion is contained in FCO telno 966 (copy attached).

Recent airing of the question of involuntary repatration by Hong Kong is contained in Hong Kong telnos 1567, 1637 and 1874 (copies attached).

5.

19 June 1986

cc: Mr Leeks, HKD

T Nash

South East Asian Department

CANDIDENTIAL