XI. Vietnamese Refugees
76. During 1986 major efforts were made to speed up the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in camps in Hong Kong. Following the decision by Her Majesty's Government in September 1985 to accept some 500 refugees from Hong Kong for family reunion in the UK under relaxed criteria, a diplomatic campaign was mounted by Her Majesty's Government, supported by the Hong Kong Government, to persuade other countries to offer more resettlement places to Hong Kong. Many countries responded positively, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. For its part the Hong Kong Government decided to accept 250 more refugees of Chinese origin for local settlement.
77. In response to a request made by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Hong Kong Government also agreed, in February 1986, to establish a transit centre in Hong Kong, to help facilitate the resettlement of refugees rescued at sea under the International Rescue at Sea Resettlement Offers scheme.
78. However, 11 years after the end of the war in Vietnam there is still no durable solution in sight to the problem of the continuing exodus of refugees. During 1986 the number of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Hong Kong doubled compared with 1985. This was the first time that the rate of arrivals in the territory had increased since the implementation of the closed centre policy in July 1982. Much of the benefit from an improved rate of resettlement in 1986 was thus cancelled out by the large increase in the number of new arrivals in Hong Kong. Further, although some 3,816 refugees were resettled from Hong Kong in 1986 this level is unlikely to be maintained in 1987. The efforts of Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong Government resettlement thus brought a fall of 1,400 in the Vietnamese refugee population to the end of the year. But 8,039 remained to be resettled.
XII. Security
(a) Defence
79. The 1981 Defence Costs Agreement sets out the present understanding between Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong Government on the costs of the British Garrison stationed in Hong Kong, and the contribution which Hong Kong should pay towards its upkeep. Under the present Agreement, which will expire in March 1988, Hong Kong meets 75 per cent (presently some HK$1,500 million per annum) of the costs of the Garrison. A new Defence Costs Agreement is required from April 1988 and preparations for the negotiations, which will take place during 1987, have begun.
(b) Illegal Immigration
80. The number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter Hong Kong continued to increase during 1986. Arrests during the year averaged 1,402 per month compared with 1,051 per month in 1985. The number of illegal immigrants evading immediate arrest but apprehended later within Hong Kong remained steady, at an average of 309 per month. While these statistics suggest that security along the land border and in coastal waters is proving generally effective, a cause of particular concern in the latter part of 1986 was a resurgence in the trafficking of child illegal immigrants to join parents already in Hong Kong. The number of illegal immigrant children reported to the Hong Kong Immigration Department for regularisation of stay jumped from an average of 20 per month, before August 1986, to over 200 in November. The methods used to smuggle children into Hong Kong often place their lives at risk. The Hong Kong Government is therefore monitoring the situation closely and consultations with the Chinese authorities have been held to try and halt the recent upsurge.
(c) Triads
81. In 1986 the Hong Kong Government launched a new initiative to combat organised crime in the territory and, in particular, the menace posed by triad societies. A discussion document entitled “ Options for Changes in the Law and in the Administration of the Law to counter the Triad Problem" was published in April and the public reaction to its proposals revealed a widespread demand, within the community, for sustained and determined action against triads. In the coming months the Hong Kong Government
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