CONFIDENTIAL
BRIEF FOR HE
TO HONG KONG
ESSENTIAL FACTS
with 0
CR 3/4821/81 I
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LORD BELSTEAD'S VISIT
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6TH DECEMBER, 1982
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
PRESENT VR POPULATION
In April this year the Vietnamese refugee population
in Hong Kong had dropped to less than 10,000 for the
first time since 1979. This hopeful development
coincided with a drastic cutback in the US offtake in
refugees from Hong Kong, the completion of the UK
quota and the onset of "compassion fatigue" in resettle-
ment countries generally. By the end of October the
number rose to 12,700 (excluding those who had been
settled in China and entered Hong Kong illegally).
This caseload was the highest in the region, representing
31% of the 40,886 awaiting resettlement in first asylum
ports. 3,215 of those in Hong Kong were in closed
camps, having arrived after 2 July 1982.
ARRIVALS
2.
The trends in the first ten months of 1982 are
a matter for growing concern. 7,407 reached Hong Kong
in that period, representing 21% of total arrivals in
the region (against a historic 128) and only 1,000 or
10% less than last year although arrivals in the region
as a whole are apparently down by nearly 50%. The
CONFIDENTIAL