TNAG-1797-FCO40-2557-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 229

CONFIDENTIAL

HKD 243/8!

821

101703

MDHIAN 3915

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HANOI

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 323

OF 16050OZ SEPTEMBER

C88TM

? COPY a DIST?

OMS

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG AND UKMIS GENEVA

810

YOUR TELNO ZTT: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG

1

物

I CALLED ON MR TIN THIS MORNING AND PUT THE PROPOSAL FOR THE

NEXT ROUND. HE SAID HE WOULD HAVE TO SUBMIT THE MATTER BUT

PERSONALLY WAS UNAWARE OF ANY REASON WHY THE WEEK BEGINNING

10 OCTOBER WOULD BE UNACCEPTABLE. I CONFIRMED THAT MCLAREN WOULD LEAD.

2. I HANDED OVER THE LIST OF 14 VOLUNTARY REPATRIATES

(HK TELNO 3463). MR TIN EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT THE LIST WAS SO

SHORT. I EXPLAINED THAT THESE WERE THE FIRST TO BE FULLY

PROCESSED. MR TIN SAID THAT HE WOULD PASS ON THE LIST TO THE

COMPETENT AUTHORITIES BUT GAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE WOULD BE

NO DIFFICULTY. IN ANSWER TO MY QUESTION HE SAID THAT AS THE

NUMBER WAS SO SMALL THEY HAD PROBABLY BETTER BE REPATRIATED IN THE

SAME WAY AS PREVIOUS CASES IE. BY AIR VIA BANGKOK. HE MADE NO

MENTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. NOR OF COURSE DID I. HE ALSO

WONDERED ALOUD WHETHER IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS GROUP

THERE WOULD BE ANY POINT IN VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS GOING TO HONG

KONG. I SAID THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED: HE DID NOT DISAGREE.

3. IN DISCUSSING POINTS B, C AND D IN PARA 3 OF YOUR TELNO 2268 TO HONG KONG, MR TIN CLAIMED THAT SECURITY HAD BEEN TIGHTENED TO REDUCE THE FLOW OF ILLEGAL EMIGRANTS AND THAT THE WORD WAS

BEING PUT ABOUT THAT THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY POINT IN MAKING FOR

HONG KONG. HE DREW A CLEAR LINE BETWEEN VOLUNTARY AND FORCED

REPATRIATES. THE IDEA OF THE LATTER RAISED DIFFICULTIES. WITHOUT

MENTIONING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE HE REFERRED TO MEANS NEEDING TO

BE FOUND TO RESOLVE THE DIFFICULTIES: I AGREED, ALSO WITHOUT MENTION- ING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

4. I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFORM HIM OF THE PROPOSED

RADIO BROADCASTS. HE THOUGHT THEY WERE A GOOD IDEA AND ASKED FOR FULL DETAILS, WHICH I

WHICH I SHALL SUPPLY. HE SEEMED TO REGRET THAT THE

BROADCASTS WOULD NOT BE PUT OUT BY THE BBC SINCE ITS SERVICES TO VIETNAM WERE WIDELY LISTENED I EXPLAINED THAT WE DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER THE BBC'S PROGRAMMING.

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CONFIDENTIAL