SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
But the nature of the problem now is very different.
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First, there is no longer the reasonable expectation
that most of the arrivals seeking temporary asylum in
Hong Kong will leave quickly. From 1979-1982, some
80,000 boat people were resettled from Hong Kong.
only a small percentage of the arrivals are likely to be
eligible for resettlement. For the rest, Hong Kong is
the end of the road.
Now
In Confidence
need
Secondly, the financial burden on Hong Kong is now
formidable. The new screening policy means that all
arrivals have to be detained in closed centres requiring
a high degree of security and qualified staff to maintain
discipline and order. This involves considerable capital
and recurring expenditure. The Hong Kong Government have
already committed £60 million in the current financial
year (having spent £48 million last year). If arrivals
continue at the present rate, substantially more will be
needed.
Thirdly, and for reasons closely related to the
previous two, local attitudes to the problem have changed
for the worse. In 1979 there was a degree of local
sympathy for the boat people, many of whom were ethnic
Chinese escaping persecution in Vietnam.
Now there is
enormous resentment of the new arrivals, almost all of
whom are ethnic Vietnamese motivated not by a fear of
persecution but by a desire for a better standard of