ODE 18-77
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Stone
HK B
243 / 11
Hong Kong Dept
Reference.....
Рож
155
क
Ray pls put on
the VBP funcres
ate.
HONG KONG : VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE
1. You asked for early comments on your first draft of a letter from the Secretary of State to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
2.
My first and obvious comment is that your draft is much too long. It will need pruning and tightening if it is to be convincing to the Treasury.
3. Secondly, I suggest you need to address the point in Mr Crabbie's minute of 6 September to Mr Paul (copy attached). The Treasury will react unsympathetically if they can see no end to our string of bids for more money for Hong Kong.
4.
It is not clear to me how you propose to finance possible monitoring by NGO's of Boat People returned to Vietnam. I had understood that this would be covered by the £5m bid for assistance to Vietnam. But para 18 of your draft appears to suggest that the whole £5 million would go to the Vietnamese Government. This needs to be clarified.
5. The draft needs to bring out clearly on which Department's Votes the various elements of your bid would be borne. As I understand it, Hong Kong is too rich to be an aid recipient. Items 3(a) and (c) may therefore, have to be on the Diplomatic Wing Vote. We hope the ODA will agree to accept on its Vote the additional £5 million at 3(b). The draft should include a clear and unequivocal request for additional funds, ie "agree" rather than "consider urgently and sympathetically" in your para 19.
6. We shall need to see your revised draft, please, before it issues.
Meike Clemts
M C Clements
Resource Management Department
23 October 1989
copied to
Mr Griffiths, Finance Dept
Mr Blatherwick
Mr Colvin, SEAD Mr Raleigh, ODA
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.