TNAG-2232-FCO40-3204-Visits-by-David-Wilson--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-the-UK-and-1991 — Page 78

1717 OCT 291 15:58

HKGO LONDON

P.5/14 071 493 1964 P.04

Question inaudible.

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A. Yes well let me try to answer that. The American attitude has been a factor in all of this in many different ways, what we hope and what we have been trying to explain to the Americans is that they will understand that if one is going to preserve the comprehensive plan of action that is the internationally agreed way of dealing with this problem agreed in Geneva in 1989, if that is to be preserved then one must have arrangements in place for returning to their homes people who are not political refugees, so we have been trying to explain that to the Americans. From our point of view Hong Kong's point of view we have got to find a way of dealing with this problem. Our camps are now full, people have been staying in those camps

for years.

We don't like that situation. I don't believe it is humane for those people who are in those cemps for years hoping, longing to settle themselves in the United States, with no prospect what so ever of ever getting there so we need to get better arrangements in place as soon as possible to return to their homes in Vietnam people who are not political refugees. We very much hope the Americans will understand that imperative. Your other part I can't really speak how the Vietnamese look at the American attitude towards these sort of things. I think that the Vietnamese understand that the problem of the outflow of their own people to South East Asia has been a real problem for all the region not just for us in Hong Kong but for other countries in the region as well.