CONFIDENTIAL
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
I
INTRODUCTION
{
POLICY PAPER
W37)
This paper surveys the problem of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, attempts to predict how it will develop if policy remains as
1.
it is now, and set out possible options for improving the position.
II
2.
BACKGROUND
About 1.5 million people have left Vietnam since 1975. 75,000
have left under the Orderly Departure Programme (ODP) administered by the UNHCR with Vietnamese cooperation, but the vast majority have been "illegal"departures, by land (some 300,000 to China in 1978-9) or mostly, in small boats to South East Asian countries and Hong
Kong (some
may have drowned at sea). 104,000 have reached
Hong Kong; none have been turned away. Hong Kong have accepted
14,000 for permanent settlement in Hong Kong; the rest have been
placed in camps pending resettlement elsewhere. Hong Kong's refugee
population has now remained steady at 12-13,000 for about two years.
ain of the
This
•
is more than the numbers in South East Asian countries awaiting
resettlement, eg Malaysia (8,000), Philippines (.....).
III
11.
TREATMENT OF THE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
1979 GENEVA CONFERENCE
3. At the 1979 conference, held at UK initiative, HMG pledged to
take over 10,000 refugees for settlement in the UK (a total of
19,000 have in fact been accepted). We also accepted the UNHCR definition of a refugee. [SEAD to fill out this para please].
conference's
view that all those leavy vetrar by cofficial rears were to be treated as refugees for the purposes of granting asylon and resettlement places.
HONG KONG: OPEN AND CLOSED CENTRES
4. All refugees arriving from Vietnam are granted refugee status by
the Hong Kong Government under a provision of the Immigration
Premises
Ordinance (which was specially amended for the purpose).
Initially they were accommodated in open centres, run jointly by
voluntary agencies and the UNHCR and located in eentree within the
urban areas provided by the Hong Kong Government. They were
nevertheless able to move freely in and out of the centres, and to seek outside employment (statistic of number of adult men
CONFIDENTIAL