TNAG-0900-FCO40-1110-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 44

Fact Sheet on Refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong

Refugee population at 1 December 1979 58.198

Background

Hong Kong, with a land area of only 1,056 sq. kms. (407 sq. miles), much of which is unproductive hillside and barren islets, has a population of nearly 5 million. This is equivalent to an overall density of 4,784 persons per sq km, compared to densities of 3,921 in Singapore, 230 in the United Kingdom and 22 in the USA. In the main urban areas (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Kowloon and Tsuen Wan), where most of the population lives, the density reaches 25,400 persons per sq km. In one district, Mongkok, there are about 144,000 persons per sq km, eight times that of Tokyo. 98% of the people of Hong Kong are ethnic Chinese.

2.

Hong Kong also has to contend with all the problems of absorbing large numbers of immigrants from China who enter both legally and illegally. In 1978 and 1979 there have been about 250,000 immigrants, representing an addition to the population of 5% in just 23 months.

Boat Refugee Arrivals and Resettlement

3.

The first boat refugees to arrive in Hong Kong were the 3,743 on board the Clara Maersk in May 1975. It took almost 3 years to resettle them. Meanwhile, refugees continued to arrive and the trickle of 1976 (191) and 1977 (1,001) turned into a flood in 1978 (6,609) and 1979. The rate at which they have been resettled abroad has been disappointingly slow (for detailed resettlement destinations see Appendix).

Arrived

Daily Average

Resettled

Daily Average

-

1975 1978

11,544

6,181

-

Jan Mar 1979

14,061

156

2,291

25

A pr

Jul

-

Jun

44,482

489

2,744

30

Sep

M

13,874

151

8,009

87

Oct

572

18

3,239

104

Nov

H

282

9

ON

5.056

169

Sub total Jan

Nov

n

73,271

219

21,339

64

Total 1975

Nov 1979

84,815

27,520

4.

All refugees on small boats have been given first asylum in Hong Kong; none have been turned away or fired upon. The number of refugees in Hong Kong at 1 December 1979 was 58,198. This figure takes into account births and deaths amongst the refugee population while waiting in Hong Kong for resettlement offers (1,096 births and 277 deaths in 1979).