1
Background
FACT SHELT
T
HKK 243/1
Boat Refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kongrat
Refugee Population at 1 April 1982 ₫ 9,977
UFFLY
(20. 51
INDEX
K
AF45
Hong Kong, with a land area of only 1,061 sq kms, much of which is unproductive hillside and barren islets, has a population of 5.2 million. This is equivalent to an overall density of 4,712 persons per sq km, compared with 230 in the UK and 22 in the USA. In one district, Sham Shui Po, there are about 165,400 persons per sq km. 98% of the people are ethnic Chinese. Between 1978 and 1981 about 480,000 immigrants from China entered both legally and illegally, representing an.addition to the population of 10% in four years.
2.
The first Vietnamese refugees to arrive were the 3,743 on board the Clara Maersk in May 1975. Since then, refugees continued to arrive and the trickle of the following years turned into a flood in the first seven months of 1979 (66,405). The rate of arrivals fell sharply after the Geneva meeting (21-22 July, 1979): nevertheless arrivals since then have been substantial. The arrival rate in 1981 was 24% higher than that for the same period in 1980. 1,492 refugees arrived in the first three months of 1982, representing a 21% increase over last year's 1,231.
3.
All refugees on small boats have been given asylum: no-one has been turned away.
Patterns of Arrival and Ethnic Origins from 1979
4.
The majority of refugees have arrived on small boats. Those from central and southern ports have been motorised while those from ports in northern Vietnam not many in the past year have mostly been sailing junks. Many of these boats were grossly overladen. Since the Government of Vietnam announced its moratorium in July 1979, most have carried smaller numbers and have left clandestinely. In early 1979 refugees were brought from southern Vietnam in organised ships (Huey Fong, Skyluck and Sen On), having paid large sums of gold in order to leave by this means. Some refugees have also come to Hong Kong after rescue at sea by ocean-going vessels. (See Appendix A)
5.
The majority of arrivals up to July 1979 were ethnic Chinese (73%) with only 27% Vietnamese. Since then, however, the pattern has reversed. The ethnic compositions of arrivals from 1980 to 1982 are:
1980
Chinese
Vietnamese
From Northern Vietnam
From Central and Southern Vietnam
43 (0.6%)
62 (0.9%)
1,084 (16.0%) 5,599 (82.5%)
1981
From Northern Vietnam
61 (0.7%)
From Central and Southern Vietnam
87 (1.0%)
2,272 (26.8%)
6,050 (71.5%)
1982
From Northern Vietnam
18 (1.2%)
From Central and Southern Vietnam
13 (0.9%)
192 (12.9%)
1,269 (85.0%)
/Resettlement
16°