TNAG-1230-FCO40-1543-Visit-by-Richard-Luce--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Com-1983 — Page 190

IN CONFIDENCE

Numbers

refugees arriving during the first 7 months of the year.

fell sharply after the Geneva Conference on Refugees and Displaced

Persons in South-East Asia in July 1979, but arrivals since have

continued to be substantial. All refugees arriving in small boats

(as opposed to those picked up by vessels belonging to third

countries) are given asylum in Hong Kong, and accommodated in camps

to await resettlement in third countries. Between 1975 and December

1982 over 100,000 refugees arrived in Hong Kong, and some 90,000

were resettled elsewhere, of whom over 50,000 went to the USA, and

over 11,000 to the UK. About 14,000 were accepted for permanent

settlement in Hong Kong.

5.15 Recently, however, the rate of resettlement has been slowing

down and the number of refugees in Hong Kong has increased. The

Hong Kong Government have since July 1982 interned new arrivals in

closed camps, in the hope that this will have a deterrent effect on those thinking of leaving Vietnam illegally. (Previously, refugees were given accommodation in open camps, which allowed them the

opportunity to seek employment in Hong Kong.) This policy, which

has served to bring Hong Kong more into line with other Asian

countries, appears now to be having some effect on the number of

refugees arriving in Hong Kong: arrivals for January-June 1983 were

51% down on 1982 figures, compared with a decrease of 37% in the

South East Asian region as a whole. There are at present over 13,700 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement.

Hong Kong Department September 1983

IN

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CONFIDENCE