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PS/Lord Glenarthur
CONFIDENTIAL
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HKD 243/8
CO Hum
MAY 2788
Hong Kong Department
3 May 1988
PS/Mr Eggar
Mr Gillmore
Mr McLaren
Mr Adams, SEAD
Mr Williams, UND
Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers Private Secretary
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
18
1. Please refer to your minute of 29 April to the Private Secretary.
2.
You recorded two questions from Lord Glenarthur:
(1)
(ii)
3.
the extent to which, if the contemplated new policy was put into effect, we would expect to be put under greater pressure to take some of the residual balance of refugees;
how we are involving the Home Office in considering a possible change of policy. In the latter connection, the Secretary of State commented that the Home Office could well have useful advice to offer.
Where (i) is concerned, it is at present hard to judge how great the pressure will be.
The Hong Kong Government have concentrated on thinking through the local aspects of the possible new policy, and have given rather less thought to the quid pro quo to be expected from the resettlement countries. I would however expect the pressure to be quite considerable: but so too would the pressure for additional resettlement in the UK if there was no change at all in Hong Kong Government policy. The wave of new arrivals is continuing to swell. There are now over 11,000 boat people in Hong Kong, and the pressure on accommodation is acute. In a recent 24 hour period 265 new arrivals were recorded. That puts starkly into perspective our present resettlement commitment of 468 over two years.
4.
Where (ii) is concerned, I thought it best not to consult the Home Office formally until I had a preliminary indication of Ministers' views. however kept my opposite number in the Home Office fully informed on a personal basis. Now that Ministers have given Hong Kong the go ahead to develop their thinking further we shall pursue our dialogue with the Home Office more formally.
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CO Hum
CONFIDENTIAL
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