TNAG-2872-FCO40-4126-Hong-Kong-repatriation-of-ex-China-Vietnamese-illegal-immigr-1993 — Page 33

Resettlement

11. The massive exodus of Vietnamese boat people led to the

First International Conference on IndoChinese Refugees, held

in Geneva in 1979, and an agreement on the resettlement of the boat people population. The rate of resettlement of the Vietnamese arrivals in Hong Kong in response to the crisis of 1979 was such that over 79,663 were resettled in the three year period 1979-81. In subsequent years, the pace of resettlement slowed down dramatically as the major

resettlement countries began to reduce their quotas or tighten

their criteria for admission.

HONG KONG'S POLICY ON VIETNAMESE ASYLUM SEEKERS

No Vietnamese asylum

12. The Hong Kong Government has adopted a policy of providing first asylum to all arrivals. seekers have been turned away. In the initial years between 1975-82, all Vietnamese asylum seekers arriving in Hong Kong were automatically regarded as refugees and were allowed to live in open camps. As the rate of resettlement failed to keep pace with the rate of arrivals, the Hong Kong Government had no option but to introduce in 1982 a closed camp policy. All those arriving after 1 July 1982 were held in detention

centres.

13. Another crisis point was reached in 1988 when over 18,000 Vietnamese asylum seekers made their way to Hong Kong. The fact that all new arrivals were still automatically granted refugee status remained a major "pull-factor". The agreement reached at the first Geneva Conference in 1979 was now falling apart. Resettlement countries were criticized by their own people for accepting migrants who would not qualify as genuine refugees. Other first asylum countries in the region began to turn Vietnamese boat people away with inevitably diversion of migrants to other first asylum countries. However, the Hong

Arb.Det