CAB128-94_A1b — Page 53

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Hong Kong of Vietnamese boat people some headway had been made following the International Conference in Geneva and there was now broad international support in particular from South East Asian countries and Australia for the British view that Vietnamese boat people who did not qualify as genuine refugees would need to be repatriated. The United States had however been consistently unhelpful on this question. He had seen the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Mr Nguyen Co Thach, on 28 June. The latter had agreed that Vietnam should participate in efforts to bring about the return to Vietnam of those non-refugees who would ot resist repatriation even if they were not actively Wenteering for it. This constituted a very important

shift in the attitude of Vietnam.

ONFIDENTI

China

Previous Reference CC(89) 22.3

THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY said that hardliners had continued to consolidate their position following the recent regression of demonstrations in China. General Secretary had yang had been dismissed from all his posts at the enlarg plenum of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on 23/24 June. Three other reform-

arty on 23/24 June. minded leaders had so been dismissed. Mr Jiang Zemin, formerly the Party Secretary of Shanghai, had been the surprise choice to replace Zhao Ziyang. Mr Jiang had visited the United Kingdon in 1988 as Mayor of Shanghai and had called on both the re Minister and himself. He was a difficult man to asses Moscow-trained and fluent in English he gave the impression of a lively personality. He had done much to promote foreign investment in Shanghai. He had been able to avoid any open conflict with the People's Liberation Army in Shanghai when martial law had been imposed in early June. But he had also been quick to judge that the hardliners would predominate during recent political events and to adjust his own stance accordingly. It was unclear how much influence he would wield given that the Party's veterans Deng Xiaoping and President Yang Shangkun were still on the scene. It appeared that Chinese policy remained to pursue economic liberalisation without having to concede political liberalisatio The European Council in Madrid had adopted a useful statement on China and agreed a package of measures broadly in already taken by the United Kingdom while avoju economic sanctions or severance of contacts.

with those blanket

FIDENTIAL

Republic of Ireland

Previous Reference

CC(89) 22.3

THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY said that Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, would be going to the Dail later that day to seek a vote confirming him in off

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CONFIDENTIAL