TNAG-0973-FCO40-1192-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 18

DRAFT

MR RAISONS VISIT TO HONG KONG AND THAILAND

SEPTEMBER 1930

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

General Backbround

78

The first boat refugees to arrive in Hong Kong were the 3,743 on board

the Danish vessel, the "Clara Maersk", immediately after the fall of

Saigon in May 1975. It was 3 years before these were resettled; 25

came to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile refugees continued to arrive;

the trickle during 1976 (191 arrivals) and 1977 (1,001 arrivals)

became a flood in 1978 (6,609) and 1979 (70,868). In the first 7 months

of 1980, 7,803 refugees arrived in the Colony.

The Hong Kong authorities feel that they have fared badly in the

international programme for the resettlement of refugees from

South Last Asia. They stress that of all littoral states in the

region they have pursued the most humanitarian policies; no refugee

arriving in Hong Kong has ever been turned back to sep, The e

providing temporeay shelter to 40% of the boat refugees in South Darn

Aata; the reminder are in Kalaysia (268); Indonesia (127));

#alon (60; 1: Peilimainos (4.3; Thaio (60; and Singanon ?