3
Resettlement of Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong
has declined drastically this year, by some
44 per cent
compared with last year.
As a result our present 14. per cent
And
refugee population is higher than it was when I
moved the retention of Section 18(3) last year.
the prospects for next year as far as resettlement is
concerned are not good.
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Siv, llegal immigration from China also remains
a problem. For the first ten months of 1987, 18,564
illegal immigrants were arrested when attempting to
enter Hong Kong, and a further 3,432 who had evaded
security forces at the border were arrested
subsequently, compared with 14,028 and 2,969
last y respectively for the corresponding period in 1985.
No particular reason has been identified for the
increased level of illegal immigration this year.
could well be a combination of the usual factors
including absolutely unfounded rumours circulating in
China that amnesties would be granted and that jobs
are easily available in Hong Kong, even to illegal
immigrants.
It
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lc.