1
Kong Government continued to provide a safe shelter for all who arrived notwithstanding tremendous pressure in the territory for the Government to abandon its first asylum
policy.
14. The anxieties of the local population in Hong Kong over the refugee problem is reflected in the following table:-
Number of Arrivals & Departures before 16-6-1988
Year
Departures
VR Pending
Resettlement
Arrivals
1975
3,743
3,645
98
1976
191
246
43
1977
1,001
539
505
1978
6,609
1,720
5,394
1979
68,748
24,377
49,765
1980
6,788
37,468
19,085
1981
8,470
17,818
9,737
1982
7,836
9,247
8,326
1983
3,651
4,200
7,777
1984
2,230
3,694
6,313
1985
1,112
3,953
3,472
1986
2,059
3,816
1,715
1987
3,395
2,212
2,898
1988 (1 Jan
8,000
1,248
9,650
15 June)
Total
123,833
114,183
9,650
15. The increasing number of arrivals and the failure of the international resettlement programme led to a change in the Hong Kong Government's policy towards the Vietnamese asylum
seekers. With effect from 16 June 1988, all new arrivals are given a choice. They are told clearly when first intercepted
Arb.Det