I would like first to stress
the size of the task
100,000
that Hong Kong has faced in caring for the
Vietnamese boat people who have arrived in the territory
since 1975. None have been turned away. They have all
been granted
temporary asylum by the Hong Kong Government
and accommodated in camps un til
resettlement places
This is
a
considerable
Overseas
could be
found
for them.
achievement for
such a small,
overcrowded territory.
Hong Kong has
also itself
accepted some
14,500
Indo-Chinese for resettlement
over this period.
There are currently about 9,500 Vietnamese refugees
in camps in the territory.
letter, these
closed camps.
As
Ms Good rum mentions in her
refugees are divided between open and
Initially, all newly arriving boat people
were accommodated in open camps.
Most were resettled
reasonably quickly.
increasingly difficult to find resettlement places, and
the Hong Kong Government saw no alternative but to take
steps to discourage those still in Vietnam from setting
out for Hong Kong. In July of that year they therefore
policy under which all newly arriving
refugees would be placed in closed camps,
However by 1982 it was becoming
introduced
new a
would not be permitted to
from which they
This seek outside employment.
policy has been reasonably
success ful in reducing the
level of arrivals; but a flow of people out of Vietnam
nevertheless continues.
Much as we and the Hong Kong
Government dislike the policy, we see no alternative to
continuing it while refugees continue to arrive in the
territory.
arrives
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