TNAG-2872-FCO40-4126-Hong-Kong-repatriation-of-ex-China-Vietnamese-illegal-immigr-1993 — Page 34

1

Kong Government continued to provide a safe shelter for all who arrived notwithstanding tremendous pressure in the territory for the Government to abandon its first asylum

policy.

14. The anxieties of the local population in Hong Kong over the refugee problem is reflected in the following table:-

Number of Arrivals & Departures before 16-6-1988

Year

Departures

VR Pending

Resettlement

Arrivals

1975

3,743

3,645

98

1976

191

246

43

1977

1,001

539

505

1978

6,609

1,720

5,394

1979

68,748

24,377

49,765

1980

6,788

37,468

19,085

1981

8,470

17,818

9,737

1982

7,836

9,247

8,326

1983

3,651

4,200

7,777

1984

2,230

3,694

6,313

1985

1,112

3,953

3,472

1986

2,059

3,816

1,715

1987

3,395

2,212

2,898

1988 (1 Jan

8,000

1,248

9,650

15 June)

Total

123,833

114,183

9,650

15. The increasing number of arrivals and the failure of the international resettlement programme led to a change in the Hong Kong Government's policy towards the Vietnamese asylum

seekers. With effect from 16 June 1988, all new arrivals are given a choice. They are told clearly when first intercepted

Arb.Det