TNAG-1419-FCO40-1902-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1985 — Page 191

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POLICY

3.

evidence

In his oral

to the sub-committee, Mr

Luce provided statistics of refugee arrivals for Hong Kong and for the South East Asia region as a whole which demonstrate clearly that the Hong Kong arrival

rate has decreased considerably more sharply than that

of the region since the introduction of the closed camp policy. (Q223) In other respects Hong Kong is an attractive place for asylum seekers: it is generally

recognised that the material conditions in Hong Kong's

camps, including the closed camps, are better than

those of

most other countries of the region. Indeed

it was precisely because open camp

conditions were

attractive that Hong Kong appears to have acted as a magnet for boat people until the closed camp policy

was introduced. HMG consider that the conclusion is

inescapable that the decrease in the arrival rate in

Hong Kong is due to the closed camp policy.

CONSEQUENCES OF ABOLISHING THE CLOSED CAMP POLICY

4.

In HMG's view the reasons

closed camp policy are the

were

introduced in 1982.

s ame

HMG

recognises that the latter are

21).

for continuing with the

today as when they

note that the report

"understandable" (para

A substantial flow of refugees continues to

leave Vietnam. Although the Hong Kong arrival rate has decreased more sharply than that of the region as

resettlement rate has only

combined arrival rate and

In HMG's view the likely

and

a whole since 1982, the

just kept pace with the

birth rate in the camps.

consequence of abolishing the closed camp s transferring the residents to open camps would be that Hong Kong would become again the magnet for people

it was between 1979 and 1981. There

from Vietnam that

would be a sharp rise in the number of arrivals,

no corresponding increase in resettlement.

with

As a

i