CONFIDENTIAL
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Encl. Ib
Hong Kong's record of aid to Vietnamese Refugees is good, particularly since at the same time it has had to absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants from China. Hong Kong is the only 3.E. Asian territory which has offered safe asylum to all refugees reaching its shores and not turned anyone away.
The first Vietnamese boat refugees received by Hong Kong were some 3,740 arriving in mid 1975. These took almost three years to resettle overseas.
Meanwhile, refugees continued to trickle in during 1976 (191) and 1977 (1,001). The trickle turned into a flood in 1978 (6,609) and in 1979 the number of Vietnamese refugees in ilong Kong exceeded 70,000. As at 1 February 1982 some 11,500 were still in Hong Kong excluding 450 who have been picked up by foreign vessels at sea and 3,300 who have
This come on to Hong Kong after spending time in China. exceeds the number remaining in any other country of first asylum and Hong Kong is concerned that its humanitarian response has resulted in countries of permanent settlement giving priority in resettlement to refugees waiting in other S.E. Asian countries where the treatment of refugees
is often less than humanitarian.
Since 1979, the Hong Kong Government has incurred HK$117M (£11M) in direct expenditure on establishing and running refugee camps, feeding and transporting refugees. These figures do not include the cost of staff and resources diverted from other purposes, the use of land and other hidden costs. In addition, the major voluntary agencies in Hong Kong have spent about HK/27% on providing services
to the refugees.
Quite apart from accepting the burden of giving temporary asylum to this massive influx of boat refugees, Hong Kong has provided permanent settlement within the territory for over 14,000 refugees and displaced persons from Indo-China since April, 1975.
/In