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those leaving Indo-China by boat.
The UK has SO far accepted around
19,000 Vietnamese although in the last three years it has accepted
less than 500 from Hong Kong. We have continuing international commitments to resettle family reunion and ship rescue cases.
III TREATMENT OF THE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
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OPEN AND CLOSED CENTRES
5. All refugees arriving from Vietnam are granted refugee status by
the Hong Kong Government under a provision of the Immigration Ordinance (which was specially amended for this purpose). Initially
they were accommodated in open centres, run jointly by voluntary
agencies and the UNHCR and located in premises within the urban
areas provided by the Hong Kong Government.
They were
able to move freely in and out of the centres, and to seek outside
employment. (Over 90% of adult heads of families and single adults
in the open centres are employed).
6.
Initially the rate of
resettlement in Western countries
in
response to the crisis was high; in 1979 the average monthly rate of
resettlement from Hong Kong was 2,000; in 1980 this rose to 3,000,
in 1981 it fell to 1,500; and when, in 1982, it fell to 770 per
month, Hong Kong's refugee
population rose accordingly (see Table
I). The Hong Kong Government introduced the closed centre policy in
July of that year.
Since that date, under a further special
provision of the Hong Kong Immigration Ordinance, all newly arriving
refugees have been placed in closed centres, where they are detained
and are not permitted to seek outside employment. The aim of this
policy is to deter would-be refugees from setting out from Vietnam
for Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government have attempted to ensure
that news of the policy reaches those still in Vietnam. The centres
are run by specially recruited staff of the Correctional Services
Department, which i s also responsible for
prisons and other correctional institutions.
the Hong Kong Government approximately one
expenditure on refugees (HK$ 20 million out of a total of HK$ 60
million in 1984).
running Hong Kong's
The UNHCR reimburses
third of its annual
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