TNAG-1788-FCO40-2548-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1988 — Page 37

CONFIDENTIAL

110060 MDHIAN 0178

EMIGRANTS WOULD WISH TO RETURN.

1

•

ACTIONS WERE BETTER THAN WORDS.

I SAID THAT I ALSO TOOK THE VIEW THAT WE COULD NOT STOP PEOPLE

LEAVING IF THEY WANTED TO BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT NOTHING SHOULD

BE DONE BY ANY OF US THAT MIGHT INCREASE THE OUTFLOW. WE HAD TO

GIVE PEOPLE CONFIDENCE THAT THE PROMISES IN THE JD WOULD BE

FULFILLED.

12. ZHOU AGREED AND SAID THAT HE HAD TOLD THE DELEGATION HE HAD MET RECENTLY THAT IF OTHER COMPANIES MOVED THEIR BASE TO BERMUDA, THIS WOULD NOT ENHANCE CONFIDENCE. IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING LONG TERM STABILITY IN HONG KONG, CHINA WAS ALSO VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE VIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM. THE CPG HAD ADOPTED ALL POSSIBLE MEASURES TO HELP. THEY HAD NOTED THE EFFORTS MADE BY THE BRITISH SIDE AND UNDERSTOOD OUR PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES. AS ZHOU UNDERSTOOD

IT, THE PROBLEM HAD ALREADY IMPOSED ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BURDENS ON HONG KONG. HE HOPED THAT HONG KONG WOULD ADOPT EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO EASE THE BURDEN. HE DID NOT WANT TO SEE IT FALL TO THE SARG (JUST AS HE DID NOT WANT THE BURDEN OF AN EXPO IN 2001 DO SO). IF REFUGEES AND THEIR CHILDREN REMAINED IN HONG KONG, THEY COULD NOT BE CLASSED AS HONG KONG RESIDENTS. ZHOU UNDERSTOOD THAT GUO FENGMIN HAD DISCUSSED THIS WITH HMA PEKING ALREADY.

13. I SAID THAT THE VBP PROBLEM WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE EXPO ISSUE: ONE COULD DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO GO AHEAD WITH HOLDING AN EXPO. BUT, WITH VBPS, ONE COULD NOT CONTROL WHETHER ONE WOULD OR WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN IMPOSED ON HONG KONG BY OTHERS. WE WANTED TO SOLVE IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE WE DID NOT SEE IT IN THE CONTEXT OF 1997. ZHOU EXPRESSED SATISFACTION. I DDED THAT I DID NOT WANT TO GO INTO DETAIL NOW, BUT THERE WAS A SMALL NUMBER OF REFUGEES FROM VIETNAM BORN IN HONG KONG BEFORE 1 JANUARY 1983 WHO HAD THE RIGHT TO STAY IN HONG KONG. THE AMBASSADOR WOULD BE FOLLOWING UP ON THIS POINT WITH GUO FENGMIN IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ZHOU SAID THAT HE WAS HAPPY THAT THIS SHOULD BE DISCUSSED FURTHER IN DUE COURSE. BUT HE WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT IF VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE SAW SOME PROSPECT OF STAYING IN HONG KONG ON A LONG TERM BASIS, THEY WOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO LEAVE VIETNAM WITH A VIEW TO SETTLING THERE. I SAID THAT OUR AIM WAS THE THEY SHOULD

RETURN TO VIETNAM.

ZHOU CONCURRED.

DONALD

4

PAGE

CONFIDENTIAL