TNAG-2368-FCO40-3441-Future-of-Hong-Kong-international-support-regarding-national-1991 — Page 14

1..

J C Morris Esq

Hong Kong Department

FCO

HKD 340/1.

RECEIVE

19 APR 1991

THY

INDEX

PA

* Taken:

BRITISH EMBASSY

BUDAPEST

8 March 1991

27

IHA

Agree

Mr Mytis Of JM15/3

This looks dead.

I

No further action I sugget

13/3

Dear Morris,

HONG KONG: HUNGARIAN OFFER OF SETTLEMENT

SUMMARY

1.

Issue of Hong Kong Chinese immigration into Hungary now appears quiescent.

DETAIL

2.

When I called on Zoltan Sudy (Head of MFA Far East Department) on 6 March on another matter, I asked him whether this issue had moved on since our last meeting (see my teleletter of 14 September 1990).

3. Sudy said he was not fully up to speed on the issue, although his deputy (Ujlaki) sat on the relevant inter- governmental committee (chaired by Bela Torok, Deputy State Secretary in the Prime Minister's office). One problem was that the committee had relatively little control over developments, which often took place behind their backs. However, he recalled that a company ("Possard"? Tiger Settlement Services"?), which included both Briish and Canadian representatives, had sent a letter of intent to Torok in the Autumn proposing settlement of an upper limit of 5,000 Hong Kong families in Hungary: thereafter, new approaches would be frozen. A group of 100 Hong Chinese would visit relevant sites as tourists. However, the group never arrived and Torok now doubted the nature of the company and its seriousness.

4.

Sudy said that the issue now appeared to have died anyway. This suited the MFA, which did not want a massive influx from Hong Kong. However, the Government continued to support any proposals for Hong Kong investment in Hungary: if Hong Kong citizens had to settle here to manage any such investment then this was entirely acceptable.