-15-
(compared to 3,804 in 1984). The three major resettlment countries accounted
for more than 90 percent of departures: 43 percent to the United States, 33
percent to Canada, and 14 percent to Australia.
Between 1975 and December 1985, the United States resettled a total of
61,842 boat refugees from Hong Kong, 58 percent of the total (106,907). Most
of that figure were resettled from 1979 until 1982; since July of that year
when the United States sharply reduced its intake, only 5,318 (fewer than 10
percent) have been resettled in the United States.
U.S. resettlement prospects are rapidly diminishing for the Hong Kong
refugees; some officials estimate that, given current policy, the U.S. program
will wind down over the next year and a half. As of May 1, 1986, there were
1,001 cases in the U.S. processing system, of which 289 had been approved by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Destination
United States Canada
United Kingdom Australia
W. Germany
France
Denmark
Switzerland
Netherlands
Norway
Hong Kong
New Zealand
Austria
Sweden
Spain
RESETTLEMENT OF BOAT REFUGEES FROM HONG KONG
1975-1985
Top 15 Countries
Total Resettled
Total (Percent*)
61,842
57.8%
17,739
16.6
12,313
11.5
5,078
4.8
2,400
2.2
1,630
1.5
1,099
1.0
628
0.5
626
0.5
574
0.5
505
0.4
461
0.4
424
0.3
336
0.3
251
0.2
*
The total number of boat refugees resettled from Hong Kong from 1975 through 1985 was 106,907. This column represents the percentage of that total resettled by each country during the decade.