Telegram includes a press summary of major East Asian news covering Korean Peninsula tensions, Japan’s nuclear plant shutdown, the Vietnamese “boat people” crisis, and wider refugee issues in the region. Bayard Rustin is quoted calling for urgent U.S. intervention to assist Indochinese refugees, famously stating, “If US has to take them all, then take them all.” The summary also addresses economic developments in China, border conflicts with Vietnam, and humanitarian concerns in Cambodia and East Timor.
The 1979 Indochinese refugee crisis emerged from the aftermath of the Vietnam War and regional political upheavals, including the communist takeover of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Refugees, often called “boat people,” fled by sea to escape persecution, forced labor, and ethnic violence, especially against Vietnamese of Chinese descent (Hoa). Thousands perished during dangerous sea journeys, while neighboring Southeast Asian countries, strained by the influx, began refusing entry or pushing boats back to sea. This humanitarian emergency prompted international calls for resettlement and aid, leading to efforts like those advocated by Bayard Rustin, who publicly urged the U.S. to increase its response, emphasizing the moral imperative to assist the refugees regardless of the numbers. Rustin’s advocacy was part of a broader 1970s movement linking civil rights principles to global humanitarian crises, highlighting the interconnectedness of human rights struggles worldwide. The crisis also accelerated multilateral refugee aid programs and policies for resettlement in North America, Europe, and Australia, affecting refugee policy for decades to come.
U.S. Department of State, “Telegram: Bayard Rustin Urges U.S. Action on Indochinese Refugee Crisis in East Asia,” July 16, 1979, National Archives, accessed September 26, 2025, https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=150929&dt=2776&dl=2169.
