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BACKGROUND NOTE
Situation in Hong Kong
1.
Because of its humanitarian record, Hong Kong has now become
the main target for refugees from Vietnam. The vast majority of
the 38,000 mow in the Colony have arrived this year, more than
15,000 of them during the past month. Hong Kong has run out of
temporary accommodation. New camps are being built but over 4,000
refugees are having to remain on the boats in which they arrived
and a further 8,000 are crammed into warehouses in the Government
dockyard.
2.
Resettlement is painfully slow. The current rate is only about
800 a month. In order to speed it up, the UNHCR have been urged to
increase their staff in Hong Kong.
They have also been asked
repeatedly to assume responsibility for all refugees from Vietnam
in the territory (at present they have accepted responsibility for
only about a third of them).
3. In addition Hong Kong is having to cope with an influx of legal
and illegal immigrants from China, more than 95,000 of them since the beginning of this year. If present trends continue the total for
1979 could be as high as 400,000.
take steps to stem the flow to us.
The Chinese have said that they will
Situation in Other Countries of the Region
4. Thailand There are 160,000 refugees in camps in Thailand,
mostly from Laos and Cambodia. In addition, there are thought to be
a further 50,000 recent arrivals from Cambodia not in the care of the
UNHCR, and some boat refugees from Vietnam.
Malaysia Nearly 72,000 refugees awaiting resettlement (21 May figure).
/Indonesia