TNAG-1273-FCO40-1623-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 164

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CONFIDENTIAL

+1KK 243/1 CONFIDENTIAL Give * ! NO. ST

-2 FEB 193 PASTRY

FM HONG KONG 3105DOZ JAN 1983

DESK ZA

INDEX

TO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON

TELEGRAM NUMBER 165 OF 31 JANUARY 1983.

INFO BRUSSELS, GENEVA AND WASHINGTON

TOP COPY

FOR HONG KONG GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES

Lalon Taken

My. Marshall,

NEWS DEPT CH211

M

عليكم

3

HKG/GT/9

(2) PA (VRs &

ни).

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

Mr Synth

The

при

PRESENT POSITION

aire

Legal Achises are

being presumably weep hoph in

перс

REFUGEE POPULATION IN HONG KONG ON 11 JANUARY 1983 WAS 12,640, THE HIGHEST IN THE WHOLE REGION, HAVING RISEN FROM LESS THAN

10,000 IN APRIL 1983. (AT THE END OF NOVEMBER 1982, THE HONG KONG REFUGEE POPULATION WAS 12,787 - 30.3 PER CENT OF THE REGIONAL CASE-

LOAD OF 42,177). IN 1982, 19 PER CENT OF THOSE LEAVING VIETNAM

CAME TO HONG KONG, COMPARED WITH THE AVERAGE OF 11 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS. ON THE SAME DAY, 3,360 OF THOSE IN HONG

KONG WERE IN CLOSED CAMPS. WITH GREATLY REDUCED RESETTLEMENT PRO-

GRAMMES, THERE IS NO PROSPECT OF GETTING THE NUMBERS DOWN IN THE

FORESEEABLE FUTURE UNLESS A MAJOR NEW INITIATIVE IS TAKEN.

ARRIVALS

IN 1982, 7,935 REFUGEES ARRIVED IN HONG KONG, REPRESENTING A

DECREASE OF ONLY 6.3 PER CENT IN 1981 ARRIVALS OF 8.473. THIS

IS IN CONTRAST TO A DROP IN REGIONAL ARRIVALS IN THE FIRST

ELEVEN MONTHS OF 1982 OF 41 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING

PERIOD IN 1981. 7,301 (98.3 PER CENT) OF 1982 ARRIVALS WERE

ETHNIC VIETNAMESE, THE MAJORITY OF WHOM LEFT THEIR COUNTRY IN THE

HOPE OF JUMPING THE EMIGRATION QUEUE TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVING

STANDARDS RATHER THAN BECAUSE OF FEAR OF PERSECUTION. THEY ARE

ETHNIC VIETNAMESE FARMERS AND FISHERMEN WHO SPEAK ONLY (REPEAT ONLY) VIETNAMESE.

THE STATE OF THE PRESENT VIETNAMESE ECONOMY AND THE POLICIES OF

THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT ARE SUCH THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE

TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY FOR ECONOMIC REASONS AND THIS TREND IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE. ALTHOUGH THE VIETNAMESE HAVE TRIED TO STOP THIS OUTFLOW, THEY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO PATROL THEIR LONG COASTLINE EFFECTIVELY. CORRUPTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL CONTINUES.

DEPARTURES

RESETTLEMENT FROM HONG KONG HAS FALLEN DRAMATICALLY FROM 37,463 IN 1990 AND 17,318 IN 1981 TO 9,247 IN 1982 GIVING AN AVERAGE OF

CONFIDENTIAL

As for

/770 PER MONTH

as is necessor).