ENG-1982 — Page 218

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IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM

This trend continued until the end of April 1982 when the refugee population stood at 9 841, the lowest figure recorded since the full impact of the exodus from Vietnam struck Hong Kong in early 1979. Since then, the pendulum has swung against Hong Kong and by the year's end the refugee population had returned to almost the same total as at the beginning of the year.

By the summer, and following the seasonal pattern of earlier years, the Vietnamese boat people were continuing to arrive in the same numbers as in the previous two years, drawn by Hong Kong's consistently humane record towards refugees and by the lure of resettlement and economic improvement elsewhere. The government took steps to lighten this unsought burden by bringing its arrangements for accommodating refugees into line with those elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This involved the introduction of what has become known as the 'closed centre' policy whereby all those who arrived after July 1, 1982, were detained in nine remote centres. This policy, implemented by amendment of the Immigration Ordinance, followed the philosophy of 'humane deterrence' adopted elsewhere. In a closed centre the refugees are detained under strict confinement and are subject to regulation and control; no employment outside the centre is allowed, and there is little contact with the public.

It became clear by the end of July that the closed centre policy had been brought into effect none too soon, when the highest arrival rate since 1979 was recorded during this traditionally peak month, accounting for 48 per cent of all regional arrivals compared with 23 per cent and 31 per cent in July 1980 and July 1981 respectively. By year-end it was still too early to assess the effectiveness of the new policy to deter those Vietnamese who persist in making for Hong Kong. However, the fact was emerging that the overwhelming majority come-to Hong Kong to better themselves economically rather than to escape racial or political persecution. It is hoped that 1983 will show some results from the efforts being made to get the message of the realities of the closed centre policy back to those people contemplating migration from Vietnam.

By the end of 1982, 3 485 refugees had arrived since the introduction of the closed centre policy; of these, only 117 had been resettled overseas. The brunt of dealing with the daily needs of the growing refugee population in closed centres falls on officers of the Correctional Services Department and the Medical and Health Department. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees meets part of the costs of maintaining the closed centres.

Those who arrived before July 2, 1982, remain in open centres under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees while they await resettlement overseas. By the end of the year, 5 979 were accommodated in the Kai Tak Transit Centre, and 2 890 were in the Jubilee Transit Centre; these two centres are managed by the Hong Kong Red Cross and Caritas-Hong Kong respectively. The resettlement prospects for these refugees are dwindling as resettlement countries announce the end of their formal resettlement quotas or the tightening of the immigration criteria under which those quotas are operated: 59 per cent of them have already spent more than two years in Hong Kong.

The short-lived disorders at the Kai Tak Transit Centre at the beginning of May 1982 provided a sharp reminder of the problems of accommodating refugees. The realities and frustrations of decreasing resettlement opportunities, traditional northern and southern differences, the high percentage of youths of a potentially exuberant nature, the frustrations created by lack of privacy and permanence - these contributed to the disorders initiated by a relatively small number of the residents at the centre.

The only countries which continue to provide on-going resettlement quotas for Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong are the United States of America, Canada, Australia