HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 15 February 1989
香港立法局—————————— 一九八九年二月十五日
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SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, I think I had better apologize in advance for the length of the answer.
In using the terms "refugee" and "boat people" in my reply I wish to make clear that "refugee" means someone who arrived from Vietnam without proper documentation before 16 June 1988, or such a person who arrived after 16 June 1988 who has been classified as a refugee as a result of screening. "Boat people" is a more generic term meaning those who arrived on or after 16 June 1988 who have either not been screened or have been screened out as non-refugees.
(a) It is not strictly true to say that the Government has adopted an open camp policy since June 1988. Rather, the Government has agreed to adopt a liberalization programme applying only to the closed camps for refugees and leading to the UNHCR taking over the management role through its operational agencies. There are three main reasons for the adoption of this policy:
First, the closed camp policy was introduced in 1982 and was intended to act as a deterrent to people who were considering leaving Vietnam for Hong Kong. By early 1988, with increasing numbers of boat people arriving from Vietnam it had become clear that the deterrent effect of the closed camp policy was inadequate, and that a new initiative was required. It was therefore decided to embark on the present screening policy for determining refugee status. In this context, it was recognized that the closed camp policy for refugees would no longer serve any useful purpose and would indeed be positively detrimental to their resettlement prospects.
Second, for those people who have been granted refugee status, the only practical durable solution is resettlement. The intention of the programme of liberalization, that is, allowing people to take up outside employment and schooling, is to improve substantially the resettlement prospects of the refugee population and thus to hasten their departure from Hong Kong; and
Third, that the liberalization programme will be financially beneficial for Hong Kong. Once the programme has been completed and the management of the camps has been taken over by the UNHCR all operative costs will be met from UNHCR funds. This will save the Government expenditure of about $150 million per year.
(b) Since 1975 a total of 816 refugees from Vietnam have been accepted for permanent settlement in Hong Kong. Of these, 701 have been accepted on the grounds of family reunification. The remaining 115 have been accepted
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