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17.
The scheme has had a stabilising effect on the community and has helped to restore local confidence.
It
has also acted as a catalyst, encouraging other countries to
implement various insurance schemes specifically for Hong
Kong people. The Government continued to encourage the international community to support Hong Kong in whatever ways it could, including the introduction of schemes to give Hong Kong people the right of abode without their having to leave the territory. A number of countries have taken
action of this kind.
For example, the United States'
Immigration Act of 1990 provides for the issue of immigrant visas to Hong Kong people, while allowing recipients to
defer their settlement in the United States for a number of
years.
18.
There are indications that former Hong Kong residents
who have acquired the right of abode overseas are returning to Hong Kong in increasing numbers. This trend is likely to accelerate given the slowdown of economic growth of many of
the destination countries. Thus although the level of
departures is expected to remain high in the coming year, these recent developments provide some grounds for cautious optimism.
V. REFUGEES AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM VIETNAM
19. There is a continuing influx of Vietnamese into Hong
Kong. Although almost all of those arriving still hope to
settle in the United States, most of them are not refugees
in the accepted international definition of the term, nor
have they crossed the open seas in small boats to get to
Hong Kong. This is largely because it has become easier and simpler in recent months to travel by road or rail through
Vietnam and China and enter Hong Kong by boat across the
Pearl River estuary. The cornerstone of our policy in
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