POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
first instance decision has been upheld and in 720 cases involving 1 800 people it has been reversed. The UNHCR has determined 910 people to be refugees under its own mandate.
The resettlement of refugees continued to go satisfactorily in 1992. During the year, 3 430 refugees were resettled overseas with Canada, Australia, and the United States remaining the three major resettlement countries. A total of 1 270 refugees left Hong Kong for the Regional Refugee Transit Centre in Bataan over the same period.
The cost of looking after the 45 350 Vietnamese migrants and refugees in Hong Kong amounted to $1,290 million in 1992. The Hong Kong Government met $996 million of this cost and the United Kingdom Government contributed $80 million to the UNHCR specifically for UNHCR's programme in Hong Kong. While the UNHCR agreed to meet $225 million of the 1992 cost, at the end of 1992 it had yet to repay the Hong Kong Government an outstanding debt of $670 million accumulated since 1989.
In view of the gradual reduction in the size of the camp population, two detention centres were closed during the year. The Argyle Street Detention Centre managed by the Civil Aid Services was closed in April 1992. The Shek Kong Detention Centre was closed down by phases in the later half of 1992, thus releasing over 200 police officers for normal law enforcement duties.
On the eve of the Vietnamese Tet festival in February 1992, a major tragedy occurred in Shek Kong Detention Centre, when 24 Vietnamese died and over 100 were injured in the course of a disturbance triggered off by an argument between northerners and southerners. Following police investigations, a number of Vietnamese migrants were arrested and charged with rioting and murder. A High Court judge was appointed by the Governor to conduct an independent enquiry into the incident. Various recommendations were subsequently made by him to improve security measures and arrangements for dealing with emergency situations in the camps. These recommendations were accepted by the Hong Kong Government and have been implemented by the departments concerned. The tragic incident underlines the dangers of leaving people in camps indefinitely and the urgency of returning people safely to their homes in Vietnam.
Hong Kong is still faced with a major humanitarian problem in trying to care for over 45 350 people in Vietnamese detention and refugee centres. However, an end to the problem appears to be in sight. Given the existing arrival and departure trends, which are expected to continue, the aim is to close all the camps within the next three years.
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