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assistance which was essential to the Vietminh military success from Dien Bien Phu onwards. At some stage these histories will need to be revised in a spirit of glasnost. There will be some awkward explaining to do. I would expect Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese patriot and re-unifier,, - increasingly to be played up and Ho Chi Minh, the ex-Comintern agent and communist to be played down, eventually perhaps out altogether. At all events, it is clear that a major component of the regime's legitimacy, as well as the corpse itself, rides in the special lift which conveys Ho Chi Minh daily (except Mondays) up and down between his cryogenic crypt in the mausoleum and the air-conditioned interior-lit fishtank whence he now contemplates eternity while discharging his last duty to his country.
HONG KONG
Arrangements for Vietnamese Boat People
23.
On 9 August, I visited five locations for Vietnamese boat people to examine the problem at first hand. I was accompanied throughout by Hong Kong Government officials who were most helpful.
Harbour Reception Centre
24.
This is an emergency arrangement and consists of two pensioned-off ferries moored in the harbour, holding about 1,000 migrants when I visited. Conditions are basic and the ferries will be phased out shortly. They are inconvenient because everything, including water, has to be brought out by lighter or barge. The dedication of the staff manning the vessels, volunteers from the Hong Kong Regiment, was striking as was the enthusiasm and optimism of the boat people themselves.
Green Island Reception Centre
25.
This is a converted ammunition depot which houses up to a maximum of 1,200 arrivals. There were 530 when I visited. Green Island is where all boat people are sent on first arrival in the colony. Before entering the camp they are de-loused and medically examined for infectious diseases. Fortunately the isolation ward, a former gelignite store, has never had to be used. The first stage of the screening process (identification and registration) is conducted here, in particular to discover whether any new arrivals are ex-China Vietnamese illegal immigrants (ECVII). The atmosphere in the camp struck me as less optimistic than at the harbour reception centre, perhaps as the realisation
CA2AIU
CONFIDENTIAL
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