TNAG-1802-FCO40-2562-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 264

DRAFT: minute/letter/teleletter/despatch/note

DSR 11 (Revised Sept 85)

FROM:

FOREIGN AND HOME SECRETRARY

DEPARTMENT:

BUILDING:

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

TO:

Top Secret

PRIME MINISTER

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

CAVEAT

SUBJECT:

TYPE: Draft/Final 1 +

Reference

GINASM

TEL. NO:

Your Reference

ROOM NO:

Copies to:

In Confidence

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG: RESETTLEMENT

Enclosures flag(s)

1.

The Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary wrote

to Mr Powell on 17 October about the outcome of the

second round of talks with the Vietnamese authorities on

the return of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong. We

have taken the first important step towards achieving our

objective of the return of all boat people who do not

qualify to be treated as political refugees. The

beginning of the repatriation exercise will reinforce the

deterrent effect of our new policies and reduce further

the rate of illegal departures for Hong Kong. The latest

figures already show that since mid-September arrivals

have virtually ceased.

2. There are now some 25,000 poat people in Hong Kong.

Or those 9,500 arrived after the introduction of

screening on 16 June.

that very tew, if any,

Initial screening results indicate

will qualify to be treated as