TNAG-1912-FCO40-2716-Financial-assistance-from-the-UK-Government-to-Vietnamese-re-1989 — Page 18

CONFIDENTIAL

HKB

ECEIVES

243/11

STRY

04 JAN 1990

JES:

INDE

REGISTRY

Action Taken

B

1. This submission and the accompanying draft letter to the Chief Secretary have been revised following discussion of earlier versions with me.

2.

The funding problems which the Governor described at the end of September have not got any easier in the past six weeks. As Sir D Wilson will no doubt explain to Ministers during his discussions here later this week, the Hong Kong Government have had to resort to some fairly questionable technical devices to find sufficient money to fund their recurrent expenditure. Without clear evidence that non-voluntary repatriation has started, there is very little prospect that the Legislative Council will approve funds for new capital expenditure.

3.

At a time of great difficulty for Hong Kong, there is a strong political case for doing as much as we can to help the territory cope with the mounting number of Vietnamese boat people. I hope that the Secretary of State will be prepared to write in the way suggested.

13 November 1989

Cc:

Mr Gillmore

Mr Blatherwick

Mr Crabbie, RMD

Mr Griffith, Finance Dept

Mr Colvin, SEAD

Mr Paul, HKD

Mr Ireton, ODA

MC1AB2

CONFIDENTIAL

RJT McLaren