(B)
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES.
6.
SINCE THE END OF 1978 AN ADDITIONAL HEAVY BURDEN OF REFUGEES
FROM VIETNAM, HAS BEEN THRUST UPON THE ALREADY OVERCROWDED TENTORY
IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1979 BOAT ARRIVALS BUILT UP AT AN
ALARMING RATE. IN JUNE NO LESS THAN 19,000 REFUGEES ARRIVED, AN AVERAGE OF 650 A DAY. ALTOGETHER, IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1979
OVER 67,000 REFUGEES ARRIVED IN HONG KONG FROM VIETNAM BY SEA,
ALL THESE HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO LAND IN HONG KONG, AND HAVE BEEN
TAKEN IN AND CARED FOR IN REFUGEE CAMPS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE
TERRITORY. HONG KONG HAS NEVER TURNED BOAT REFUGEES AWAY: THE
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAS THROUGHOUT STUCK TO THE HUMANITARIAN
PRINCIPLE THAT ALL REFUGEES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LAND AND STAY
TEMPORARILY, PENDING RESETTLEMENT.
7*
THIS POLICY HAS ONLY BEEN MAINTAINED AT A COST TO THE SOCIAL SERVICES PROVIDED FOR HONG KONG'S OWN POPULATION, AND LARGELY AT THE COLONY'S OWN EXPENSE, GIVEN UNHCR'S SHORTAGE OF FUNDS AND STAFF HERE. FOR EXAMPLE, LAND SCHEDULED FOR INDUSTRIAL OR AMENITY DEVELOPMENT HAS HAD TO BE PRESSED INTO USE TO HOUSE REFUGEES, AND PROGRAMMES DELAYED ACCORDINGLY. MANY OF THE REFUGEES HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO WORK, TO THE GOOD OF THEIR OWN MORALE AND WELL-BEING. AND IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED THAT HONG KONG'S ACCEPTANCE FOR RESETILEMENT HERE SINCE 1975 OF 14,200 INDO-CHINESE REFUGEES REPRESENTS A RATE OF ONE FOR EVERY 350 OF THE EXISTING POPULATION A FIGURE WELL IN EXCESS OF A NUMBER OF THE IDEAL 'ABSORPTION'' RATES WHICH HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED.
(C) THE CRUX OF HONG KONG'S PROBLEM: RESETTLEMENT.
67,340 BOAT
IN THE SAME
3. HONG KONG'S MAIN PROBLEM IS THAT THE RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEES TO PERMANENT HOMES OVERSEAS HAS NOWHERE NEAR KEPT PACE WITH THE RATE OF ARRIVALS. IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1979 REFUGEES ARRIVED, AND ONLY 6,340 LEFT: LESS THAN 10%. PERIOD HONG KONG RECEIVED 35% OF ALL. REFUGEE ARRIVALS REPORTED !!! SOUTH-EAST ASIA: BUT WAS ONLY ALLOCATED ABOUT 12% OF RESETTLEMENT PLACES BY OVERSEAS COUNTRIES. IN THIS, HONG KONG HAS BEEN SEVERELY DISADVANTAGED BY COMPARISON WITH THE OTHER COUNTRIES OF FIRST REFUGE REFUGEES ARE CURRENTLY BEING RESETTLED FROM MALAYSIA, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE RATE OF OVER 8,000 PER MONTH, IF THIS TREND CONTINUES, AND ASSUMING NO MORE ARE ALLOWED TO LAND THERE, MALAYSIA MAY WELL HAVE RESETTLED ALL ITS REFUGEES BY APRIL 1986. AT THE END OF JULY HONG KONG HAD 66, 609 REFUGEES, AND AT THE CURRENT RATE OF RESETTLEMENT (EVEN IF ONE WERE TO ASSUME NO FURTHER ARRIVALS HERE) IT WOULD STILL HAVS 45,000 BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
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