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CONFIDENTIAL
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041176
MDHIAN 3411
CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING
TO
IMMEDIATE F C O
TELNO 761
OF 050905Z MAY 89
Hko 243/22
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKMIS GENEVA, WASHINGTON
TOP COPY Q DIST 7
YOUR TELNO 392.
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: FURTHER ACTION WITH THE CHINESE.
1.
IN VIEW OF ZHOU NAN'S INABILITY TO SEE ME ON 5 MAY BECAUSE OF OTHER ENGAGEMENTS, AND IN THE LIGHT OF THE URGENCY OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN T U R, I CALLED ON GUO FENGMIN THAT DAY AND SPOKE ALONG THE LINES OF PARA 2 OF TUR, REITERATING THE POINTS IN YOUR MESSAGE TO QIAN QICHEN: MAKING PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO, AND STRESSING, MINISTERS' CONCERN ABOUT THE NEW PHENOMENON OF BOAT PEOPLE CROSSING THE VIETNAM/CHINA LAND BORDER ON THEIR WAY TO
HONG KONG: MAKING THE POINT THAT SUCH INDIVIDUALS WERE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: AND STRESSING THE NEED, IN THE LIGHT OF THE GROWING CRISIS IN HONG KONG, FOR EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO PREVENT BOAT PEOPLE FROM REACHING THE TERRITORY. IN DOING SO, I HANDED GUO A NOTE OF THE LATEST ARRIVAL STATISTICS AND CASE HISTORIES IN HONG KONG TELNO 77. I DID NOT (NOT) REFER TO THE IDEA OF A HOLDING CENTRE IN SOUTH CHINA (YOUR TELNO 955 TO HONG KONG). IN MAKING THESE POINTS, I SAID THAT MY INSTRUCTIONS HAD BEEN TO CALL ON VICE-MINISTER ZHOU BUT THAT IN VIEW OF HIS PREOCCUPATION WITH OTHER BUSINESS AND IN THE LIGHT OF THE URGENCY OF WHAT I HAD TO SAY, I WAS CALLING ON GUO INSTEAD. I ADDED THAT THE POINTS I HAD MADE WERE CLOSELY RELATED TO THE QUESTION OF THE MAINTENANCE OF STABILITY AND PROSPERITY IN HONG KONG. THE VIETNAMESE BOAT
PEOPLE ISSUE WAS CURRENTLY THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND ARRIVAL FIGURES SHOWED THAT IT WAS GROWING ALARMINGLY.
2=
GUO THANKED ME FOR THESE REMARKS AND APOLOGISED THAT ZHOU HAD BEEN UNABLE TO SEE ME. HE UNDERTOOK TO CONVEY WHAT I HAD SAID TO THE VICE-MINISTER IMMEDIATELY. GUO RECALLED THAT, DURING HIS RECENT VISIT TO HONG KONG, THE POLITICAL ADVISER HAD GIVEN HIM THE TEXT OF YOUR MESSAGE TO QIAN. ON HIS RETURN TO PEKING, HE HAD LEARNT THAT QIAN WAS PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION'' TO YOUR
MESSAGE AND TO THE CURRENT BOAT PEOPLE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG. QIAN HAD INSTRUCTED GUO'S OFFICE TO STUDY THE MATTER FURTHER WITH
A VIEW TO SEEING WHAT COULD AND SHOULD BE DONE. THE MFA WOULD
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CONFIDENTIAL
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