POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
By the end of 1997, there were 687 Vietnamese migrants and 1 213 refugees in the HKSAR. The government is committed to repatriating all the migrants as soon as possible, thus bringing this saga to an early and humane conclusion.
Illegal Immigrants
During the year, seven Ex-China Vietnamese Illegal Immigrants (ECVIIs) were returned to the Mainland. The ECVIIs are Vietnamese migrants who settled in the Mainland before arriving in Hong Kong. Having obtained asylum in the Mainland, they are considered to have no further claim to refugee status or resettlement. The government's policy has been to treat them as illegal immigrants and to repatriate them to the Mainland, in batches, by land and air.
In 1995, some ECVIIS challenged the decision to return them to the Mainland. The High Court dismissed the action and an appeal against this decision was rejected by the Court of Appeal. The appellants then took the case to the Privy Council, which handed down judgement in their favour on November 21, 1996. As a result, screening of these ECVIIs has to be carried out.
At the end of 1997, there were 1 161 Vietnamese illegal immigrants in Hong Kong. Great efforts were being made towards stemming the outflow of Vietnamese illegal immigrants to Hong Kong and expediting the clearance and repatriation process in co-operation with the Vietnamese Government.
With the whole Vietnamese migrant saga entering its final chapter, the HKSARG has conducted an overall review of its policy on Vietnamese refugees, migrants and illegal immigrants. The aim is to resolve the problem of the remaining Vietnamese refugees and migrants, and to speed up the clearance and repatriation of Vietnamese illegal immigrants.
385