TNAG-1546-FCO40-2110-International-Committee-of-the-Red-Cross-(ICRC)-proposal-to--1986 — Page 42

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INFO ROUTINE PEKING, UKMIS GENEVA

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RECEIVED REGISTRY

16 DEC 1986

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REGISTRY

Action Taken

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YOUR TELNO 2793 AND PEKING TELNO 2356: ICRC PROPOSAL TO OPEN A

REGIONAL DELEGATION IN HONG KONG.

1. FOLLOWING IS THE RESULT OF HASTY CONSIDERATION HERE. WE HAVE, AS YOU WILL APPRECIATE, HAD LITTLE TIME FOR NORMAL DUTIES IN RECENT DAYS.

2. WE TOO SEE SOME POLITICAL ADVANTAGE IN HAVING A REPUTABLE INTERNATIONAL BODY LIKE THE ICRC REPRESENTED HERE BEFORE AND

AFTER 1997.

3. YOUR PARAGRAPH 1(B) IS CORRECT. THE ICRC WOULD NOT QUALIFY FOR PRIVILEGES OR IMMUNITIES UNDER OUR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

AS AND DIPLOMATIC PRIVILEGES ORDINANCE. BUT, IF NECESSARY, YOU SAY, SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS COULD BE MADE, AS WE HAVE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR MIGRATION.

4. ONE POSSIBLE DIFFICULTY MIGHT BE OUR STRICT POLICY OVER EASTERN BLOC VISITORS TO HONG KONG. WE ARE NOT SURE, BUT SUSPECT THAT SOVIET BLOC RED CROSS SOCIETIES (AND INDEED MIDDLE EAST RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ICRC. UNDER OUR PRESENT POLICY WE WOULD NOT WISH TO SEE SOVIET BLOC NATIONAL VISITING HONG KONG FREQUENTLY ON RED CROSS BUSINESS, NOR LARGE NUMBERS ATTENDING CONFERENCES HERE. IN PARTICULAR, WE WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE SOVIET BLOC NATIONALS ON THE ICRC'S PERMANENT DELEGATION IN HONG KONG (NOR, WE ARE SURE, WOULD THE CHINESE).

5. WE DOUBT THAT THE ICRC WOULD AGITATE HERE OVER POLITICAL DETAINEES IN CHINA, AND CLEARLY WE WOULD PREFER THAT THEY DID NOT.

6. WHEN KUNG CALLS, YOU MIGHT TRY TO EXTRACT A LITTLE MORE DETAIL FROM HIM, PARTICULARLY ON ANY SOUNDINGS HE HAS TAKEN OF CHINA. NO OBJECTION TO YOU AGREEING THAT ICRC SHOULD PURSUE THEIR IDEAS WITH US. YOU MAY WISH TO SAY THAT YOU ARE SURE THAT WE WOULD GIVE THE PROPOSAL A FAIR WIND. AND TO REFER TO OUR GOOD EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL RED CROSS OVER THE VIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM (THE LOCAL RC RUN KAI TAK CAMP). YOU MIGHT HOWEVER DRAW ON PARAGRAPH 4 ABOVE, AND SEE HOW KUNG REACTS. PERHAPS THIS WOULD

NOT IN PRACTICE AFFECT THE ICRC MUCH. PARAGRAPH 3 ABOVE IS

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