TNAG-2362-FCO40-3433-Visit-by-John-Major--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Hong-Kong--Septem-1991 — Page 67

A

THE PRIME MINISTER

PROJE

10 DOWNING STREET

LONDON SWIA 2AA

6 September 1991

Der Br. Thongles

Year

May I thank you warmly for all the arrangements the Royal

Hong Kong Police made for my visit and that of the Foreign

Secretary to Hong Kong. I recognise the painstaking effort that

goes in to such an operation. It was only with your help that

Douglas Hurd and I were able to fulfil such a crowded programme.

I also owe you thanks in another context. Hong Kong's very

success as an economy and its openness as a society have made it

a target for those who are dissatisfied with their lot under less

successful regimes. It has fallen to Hong Kong to bear the

burden of the Vietnamese boat people. In my visit to the High

Island Camp I was able to see at first hand the contribution the

RHKP are making to coping with this dreadful problem. Faced with

a tragic situation, they have managed to create as tolerable a

regime as is possible in the circumstances. We have every reason

to be grateful to you for taking on this task. Please pass my

thanks and best wishes to Mr Roy Nicholls and all those working with him for the trouble they took in arranging the visit.

J.A. Thorpe, Esq.

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