RESTRICTED
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Background
1. The situation is deteriorating due to increasing arrivals and
decreasing departures. On 1 April 1988 there were 9,756 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong compared with 8,039 on 1 January 1987. In the first 3 months of 1988 798 Vietnamese refugees arrived in Hong Kong,
more than twice as many as during the same period last year. This
increased burden on Hong Kong and recent hardline tactics by the
Thias have led to calls by Legislative Councillors for Hong Kong to
cease to be a place of first asylum.
RESTRICTED