TNAG-1425-FCO40-1908-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-general-1985 — Page 64

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DRAFT SPEECH BY HON MRS SELINA CHOW,

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 15.5.85

Adjournment Debate on

JP

The Vietnamese Refugee Problem in Hong Kong

Sir,

The closed camp policy for Vietnamese refugees in Hong

Kong came into force in July 1982.

It was no easy decision, but one that was adopted after much deliberation and assessment over the pros and cons. In the end three major justifications outweighed the other

considerations.

(1)

(2)

International pressure was on Hong Kong, this most receptive place of first asylum in the South East Asian region, to come up with some form of "humane deterrent", and unless we demonstrated

our resolve, there was a real danger of a further decline of resettlement prospects of refugees

already in Hong Kong, not to mention new ones who might arrive. In 1981 there were signs that resettlement prospects had already substantially waned. Compared to 1980 in which 37,500 refugees were accepted by the various countries, 1981 only saw a figure of 17,800, less than half of the previous year.

As a result of dwindling resettlement prospects, Hong Kong, at that time the only place in South East Asia to allow its refugees the freedom of open camps and local employment and had absorbed 14,500 from Indo-China since 1975, justifiably

feared that it might be relied upon by all those concerned as a place of permanent resettlement.

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