TNAG-1792-FCO40-2552-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 251

1

ARPAIG

Mr McLaren

PS/Lord Glenarthur

Private Secretary

CONFIDENTIAL

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG

Problem

FROM:

CO Hum

Hong Kong Department

DATE:

CC:

27 April 1988

PS/Mr Eggar

Mr Gillmore

Mr Adams, SEAD

Mr Williams, UND

Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers

1. To bring to Ministers' attention the deterioration of the problem of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong; and to seek their preliminary views on a possible new policy to deal with the crisis.

Recommendation

2. The Hong Kong Government believe that the continuation of the present policy has become untenable and have set out their views on the way forward. I recommend that we now explore with Hong Kong the elements of a new policy which would involve the screening of new arrivals to establish whether they meet the recognised criteria to be treated as refugees. It would be made clear that Ministers would wish to be consulted formally once the new approach had been

elaborated in greater detail. I submit a draft telegram on these

lines.

A

Background

3.

The serious deterioration in the situation is graphically

described in paras 1-8 of Hong Kong telno 1539. In essence, the

main features of the present crisis are:

a four-fold increase in arrivals so far this year over the

CONFIDENTIAL