03 AUG 1985
CONFIDENTIAL
ARYADG
PS/Lord Glenarthur
FROM:
A R Paul
હ
DATE:
CC:
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
Hong Kong Department
3 August 1988
Private Secretary
Mr Gillmore
SEAD
UND
HKD 24318
RECER
1 0 AUG 1988
606
A
1. You told me that Lord Glenarthur had expressed concern about the assessment in paragraph 1 of Hong Kong telno 2868 that problems of accommodation and manpower would become critical in August if the current rate of arrivals continues unabated.
B
Ger
2. I said I would ask the Hong Kong Government to elaborate on this assessment. I attach their reply (Hong Kong telno 2906).
3. Hong Kong's resources are clearly very stretched. If arrivals continue at the present rate they will face very serious problems. There is also a risk of disturbances in the overcrowded detention centres if anger and frustration (aggravated by the hot weather) boil over into violence. There have been reports of weapons having been found hidden in some of the detention centres.
4.
A further problem is that public feeling in Hong Kong is turning against the boat people. This in turn will be translated into political pressure on the Hong Kong Government, which is going to find it increasingly difficult to secure the approval of LegCo to further expenditure on the boat people problem.
5. Whether all this adds up to a "critical" situation is a matter of judgement and semantics. I suspect that Hong Kong may have been exaggerating just a little in their telno 2868. On the other hand, it is clear that a major incident in one of the detention centres is now a real possibility. We must hope for the best, whilst being
CONFIDENTIAL
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