became clear that resettlement countries were no longer prepared to fulfil the commitment they had made at the 1979 conference and were being selective in resettling refugees temporarily accommodated in Hong Kong. Even now, over 1,000 who arrived in Hong Kong before 1 January 1982 remain in the territory.
5.
In addition, the type of person arriving by boat in Hong Kong changed. In 1979 and immediately thereafter, most of the boat people were ethnic Chinese from the former South Vietnam, fleeing persecution by the new Communist regime. Many were well-educated and had professional skills and qualifications. They were relatively easy to resettle and contributed to the economies of the countries who took them. However, some 98% of arrivals in Hong Kong are now ethnic Vietnamese. Around 70% are from the north, mostly fishermen and farmers, many of whom have lived their whole lives under a communist system. Most are no longer considered by resettlement countries as eligible for resettlement.
6.
The situation continued to deteriorate during the early months of 1988. By the end of May, 5,150 boat people had arrived, compared to 558 in the same period in 1987, while only 1,128 were resettled
The number of refugees in Hong Kong had risen to 13,698, with the peak season for arrivals just beginning.
overseas.
7.
As the reality of the situation became clear, public attitudes in Hong Kong began to harden. The first asylum policy had never been popular with the local community, who could not understand why Vietnamese with no ties to Hong Kong were apparently being treated better than illegal immigrants from China, all of whom were of the same ethnic origin and many of whom had family connections in Hong Kong (see below). There were now increasing calls for it to be abandoned.
8.
Faced with this combination of factors the Hong Kong Government, with the full support of the British Government, felt that it had no alternative but to change its policy on the granting of refugee status. With effect from 16 June 1988, all boat people arriving in Hong Kong from Vietnam were made subject to a screening process to establish whether they had a credible claim to refugee
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