TNAG-1787-FCO40-2547-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1988 — Page 220

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VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

Background

1. The situation is deteriorating due to increasing arrivals and

decreasing departures. On 1 April 1988 there were 9,756 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong compared with 8,039 on 1 January 1987. In the first 3 months of 1988 798 Vietnamese refugees arrived in Hong Kong,

more than twice as many as during the same period last year. This

increased burden on Hong Kong and recent hardline tactics by the

Thias have led to calls by Legislative Councillors for Hong Kong to

cease to be a place of first asylum.

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