TNAG-0792-FCO40-996-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 83

I

1.

INTRODUCTION

The number of Indochinese refugees and displaced persons arriving in Thailand and in the countries bordering the South China Sea continued to grow during 1978. In Thailand, arrivals by land and by sea reso from a cumulative total of 148,549 persons as of

1 January, to 180,183 persons as of 31 July, an increase of 31,634 (Annex 1.1). In the other areas, notably in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, arrivals by sea rose from a cumulative total of 20,652 persons, as of 1 January, to 48,076 persons as of 31 July, an influx of 27,424 persons (Annex 1.2).

The average rate of arrivals per month, indicative of the rising trend, was as follows:

2.

1977

1977

1978

(First six months) (Second six months) (First six months)

Thailand

Land cases

Boat casos

Other countries

Boat cases

1,866

309

3,301

402

4,034

534

676

1,175

2,994

Annexes 2.1 and 2.2 give a breakdown of the arrivals, over periods of

six months, during 1977 and the first half of 1978.

II ASYLUM

3.

In accordance with their humanitarian traditions, the govern-

ments of the areas concerned generally continued to follow a humane policy of asylua, coupled with an emphasis on the need to resettle

those admitted in third countries of resettlement.

4.

As of 31 July 1978, the principal areas of asylum, in order of

the number of refugees and displaced persons granted asylum, were:

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