TNAG-1800-FCO40-2560-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-principle-of-first-asylum-1988 — Page 105

Назра

ни

HND 243/11

K9

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Daw Charles

London SW1A 2AH

23 June 1988

28 W23/6

No N2416

и

слого

Thank you for your letter of 9 June enclosing a copy

of a telegram to the Prime Minister from Dr Le Xuan Khoa, President of the Indo-China Resource Action Centre

(IRAC). As requested I enclose a draft reply.

IRAC is a relatively new organisation, but it is well informed about the Indo Chinese refugee problem and about the situation in Hong Kong. Its recent conference on the subject was well attended. Two Hong Kong Legislative Counsellors participated: but they took no part in the drafting of the telegram to the Prime Minister.

It is understandable that the change of policy should be unwelcome to groups such as IRAC. We had anticipated this in our consideration of the implications of the new policy. However Dr Le Xuan Khoa's telegram provides an opportunity for us to give assurances about the basis on which screening will be carved out and on which eventual repatriation of non-refugees would be implemented. It is also an opportunity to reiterate our continuing commitment to the principle of first asylum for genuine refugees.

Yours are

Besle

(R N Peirce) Private Secretary

C D Powell Esq 10 Downing Street

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