TNAG-1797-FCO40-2557-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 99

HKD (873

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

5 October 1988

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Бр-мене

River

MKD 243/8

RECEIV

1 OCT 1988

Dew Dominic

IND

Thank you for your letter of 22 September, enclosing one from US Congressman Norman Mineta about a visit to Hong Kong by a representative of the Indochina Resource Action Centre (IRAC).

I enclose a draft reply to Congressman Mineta. The visit has now taken place. The Chairman of the IRAC has written to our Ambassdor in Washington to express his thanks to HMG and the Hong Kong Government for their cooperation in organising the visit.

In his letter Mr Mineta claimed that the IRAC was being denied access to detention centres housing Vietnamese boat people and to screening centres. In fact the IRAC representative was able to visit all the detention centres under the auspices of the US Consulate General. The Hong Kong Government does not permit outside agencies to have access to the interviews which take place to determine whether boat people qualify for refugee status. The understanding reached between the Hong Kong Government and UNHCR establishes a formal monitoring role for UNHCR in this connection, and there is no case for participation by other agencies. The apparent success of the visit by the IRAC representative suggests that the Centre accepted the Hong Kong Government's position on this point.

Yous

Boler

ever

(R N Peirce)

Private Secretary

Dominic Morris Esq PS/NO 10 Downing Street