FROM THE AMBASSADOR
FRE
BRITISH EMBASSY,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20008
TELEPHONE: (202) 462-1340
14 September 1988
The Honorable
Constance A Morella
Room 1024
Longworth House Office Building Washington DC 20515
Dear Compresscroman Morella,
1
Thank you for your letter of 2 September about the visit by a representative from the Indochina Resource Action Center (IRAC) to Hong Kong.
IRAC have been in touch with us about Ms Diller's visit. After consulting the Government in Hong Kong we made clear to the President of IRAC that the Hong Kong Government would be glad to arrange a programme of briefings and visits for Ms Diller. We know that the IRAC were particularly interested to visit the centres for boat people awaiting screening and for those who have been screened out as illegal immigrants under the new policy announced in June. The Hong Kong Government are conscious of the importance of allowing access to these detention centres for the international community and for those groups concerned with the rights of the Vietnamese boat people. They have therefore
operated a policy of permitting visits to the centres by Consular officials, the UNHCR and concerned groups under the auspices of their Consulates or the UNHCR.
We have told IRAC that the Hong Kong Government would be pleased to include a visit to the Hei Ling Chau Detention Centre in Ms Diller's programme, on the understanding that this would take. place under the auspices of the US Consulate in Hong Kong. The necessary arrangements have been made in Hong Kong between the Hong Kong Government and the US Consulate.
In short, the Hong Kong Government have made a major effort to respond to IRAC's request for access to all the relevant facilities in Hong Kong. We welcome the constructive interest taken by IRAC in the particular problems faced by Hong Kong, and look forward to reading a copy of their report in due course.
Yours sincerely Что
Antony Arland
Antony Acland
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