TNAG-2066-FCO40-2944-Vietnamese-boat-people-and-China-1990 — Page 33

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A

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B

FED and UND agree. The Private Secretary has asked that the

Secretary of State be consulted.

Background and Argument

3. The Chinese participated both in the 1979 Geneva Conference, which established the principle of first asylum, and in the 1989

conference which reaffirmed it. Yet they have taken an unsympathetic line on Vietnamese boat people, blaming Hong Kong's maintenance of first asylum for perpetuating the problem, and more recently pressing Hong Kong to implement mandatory repatriation more

vigorously. On 4 May, Zhou Nan, NCNA Director in Hong Kong, called for the boat people to be forcibly repatriated. Earlier that day however, at a meeting in Peking between the Ambassador and the

Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the MFA, the latter, Chen Ziying, assured the Ambassador of Chinese support for any measures which HMG/HKG might take towards solving the VBP

problem.

4. This assurance should not be taken at face value: it is unlikely

that the Chinese have any intention that such support might involve any effort or expenditure on their part. As Peking have pointed

out, the Chinese would probably look to us to provide all the

necessary finance. But the offer does provide us with a tactical

opportunity. It would enable us to renew our discussions with the Chinese on the question of Vietnamese boat people, to impress upon them the efforts we are making and to underline the things they could do to help. There are indeed some specific ideas we could put

to them.

5. One suggestion would be an intensification of measures

interdict land-crossers and coast-hoppers. Another idea that has

been dicussed before, although only briefly, at official level with the Chinese, is the establishment of holding centres in South China: the thought is that the Chinese would hold people intercepted on

their way to Hong Kong, pending screening and repatriation. We would need to be prepared to counter any UNHCR criticism by

agreeing to press the Chinese to accept UNHCR involvement.

TICABB (2)

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