TNAG-1796-FCO40-2556-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 182

FULD

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31 ما

British Embassy

R

By

Y

1) C6 HRD (lop letter only)

2) or

C

3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20008

Telex Domestic USA 89-2370/89-2384

Telex International 64224(WU}}/440015(ITT)

Telephone (202) 462-1340

Mr Le Xuan Khoa

President

Indochina Resource Action Center

1118 22nd Street NW

Suite 300

Washington DC 20037

Your reference

Our reference

Date

15 August 1988

+ Uk B

SELF

2 z AU 1988

PA/711

Al 187

Dear Mr Le Xvan Khan,

'

INDE

I have been asked to thank you for your letter of 1 August to the Ambassador about the proposed visit to Hong Kong by Ms Diller.

We have passed the information in your letter to the Hong Kong Government. They confirm that they would be willing to arrange for Ms Diller to meet Hong Kong Government officials and to visit the closed centres for refugees.

The request for Ms Diller to visit the centres for those awaiting screening and those who have been screened out as illegal immigrants raises rather different issues. As you know, under the Hong Kong Government's new policy all Vietnamese boat people who arrived in Hong Kong after 16 June are treated as illegal immigrants and detained, like illegal immigrants anywhere in the world, pending their return to their country of origin. Illegal immigrants

In

are not allowed access to any resettlement channels. these circumstances it will not be possible to arrange for Ms Diller to visit screening centres or the detention centre in which those screened out are held pending repatriation to Vietnam.

We were grateful for your kind offer of an opportunity to review the draft report prior to publication and to provide comments for inclusion in the Report. We and the Hong Kong Government will certainly look forward to reading the Report when it is published. But we would prefer to decline your invitation to provide comments for inclusion in the Report.

Ms Diller may wish to make contact direct with the Refugee Coordinator in Hong Kong to arrange the details of her programme. His address is:

/Mr Nigel French