CONFIDENTIAL
HKD 243/15
RECHIVED MURENSTEY
23
153605
MDLIAN 1460
CONFIDENTIAL
FM KUALA LUMPUR
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELNO 15
OF 300930Z SEPTEMBER 88
AND TO PRIORITY FCO
03 OCT 1988
OL
¡CER
PA
TOWN
INFO ROUTINE HANOI, CANBERRA, BANGKOK, JAKARTA, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN INFO ROUTINE SINGAPORE, PEKING
YOUR TEL 3625: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE
1.
CONTRARY TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TUR THE MALAYSIANS TELL US THAT 427 BOAT PEOPLE ARRIVED DURING SEPTEMBER: 33 IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH AND THE REST IN THE LATTER. THE UNHCR BELIEVE THAT NO CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN AS THE NUMBERS ARE TOO SMALL, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE NORMAL, OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL, FOR NUMBERS TO RISE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE END OF THE MONSOON SEASON IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM.
2. THE MALAYSIANS ARE INTERESTED IN OUR EXPERIENCE OF SCREENING AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY BOAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SCREENED TO DATE AND OF THIS NUMBER HOW MANY WERE FOUND TO BE GENUINE REFUGEES AND HOW MANY ECONOMIC MIGRANTS. THEY HAVE ALSO ASKED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO RETURN. THEY ALSO WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THE STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE UNHCR DRAWN UP FOLLOWING THE RECENT TALKS IN HONG KONG. IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO US HERE IF WE COULD RESPOND HELPFULLY TO THEIR QUESTIONS.
SPRECKLEY
YYYY
ΜΑΙΝ
107
DISTRIBUTION
111
.VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HK
LIMITED
HKD
FED
NEWS
PS
SEAD
UND
LEGAL ADVISERS
PAGE
1
CONFIDENTIAL
PS/LORD GLENARTHUR
PS MR EGGAR
PS/PUS
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