TNAG-0972-FCO40-1191-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 153

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Patterns of Arrival and Ethnic Origins in 1979

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The majority of refugees have arrived in Hong Kong on small boats. Those from ports in northern Vietnam have mostly been sailing junks, while virtually all from central and southern ports have been motorised. Many of these boats were grossly overladen but since the conference in Geneva on 20-21 July 1979, during which the Government of Vietnam announced its moratorium, most have carried smaller numbers and appear to have left clandestinely. In early 1979 many refugees were brought from southern Vietnam on organized ships (Huey Fong, Skyluck, and Sen On), having paid larger sums of gold in order to leave by this means. A significant number of refugees have also come to Hong Kong after rescue at sea by ocean-going vessels. The breakdown to 37 December was :

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46,371 (656) on 523 small boats from Northern Vietnam 15,429 (22%) on 195 small boats from Central/Southern Vietnam

7,402 (10%) on 3 organized ocean-going vessels

1,666 2%) rescued at sea by 11 ocean-going vessels

Of the arrivals in 1979,55% have been ethnic Chinese originally from northern Vietnam, 27% Chinese from the south, 13% Vietnamese from the south and 5% Vietnamese from the north. Since the Geneva Conference there has been a marked increase in the proportion of ethnic Vietnamese on boats coming from southern and central Vietnam (including rescue at sea): pre- Geneva 39%, post-Geneva 94%.

Resettlement in Hong Kong

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In addition to the burden of giving temporary asylum to this massive influx of boat refugees, Hong Kong has also made a major contribution by accepting for permanent settlement some 14,000 refugees and displaced persons from Indo-China who have arrived since April 1975. These consist of an estimated 9,000 illegal immigrants and overstayers from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; 5,021 dependants of Hong Kong residents (4,522 on special charter flights from Ho Chi Minh City organized by the Hong Kong Government) · and 185 boat refugees. This figure is equivalent to 285 people from Indo- China being permanently settled for every 100,000 of Hong Kong's population or 35 per sq. mile (14 per sq km).

Accommodation

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For the first 7 months of 1979 the majority of refugees were in Government accommodation but most are now in camps run by voluntary agencies on behalf of the UNHCR. The distribution at 1st February was: 6,739 in Government accommodation and 43,654 in UNHCR camps: Kai Tak North (HK Red Cross) 13,448; Sham Shui Po (HK Christian Service) 8,308; Jubilee (International Rescue Committee) 6,715; Kai Tak East (Caritas) 8,571; and Argyle IV (YMCA) 6,606.

Financial Cost to Hong Kong

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In 1979 the Government incurred HK$70 million (US$14m.) in direct expenditure on establishing and running refugee camps, feeding and transporting refugees. The actual cost would be very much higher if a detailed costing were to take account of the diversion of staff and resources from other purposes, the use of valuable land and other hidden costs.

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