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In June 1979, camps were set up in Shamshuipo (closed March 1981)<ref name="closure">{{cite news | first = Donald | last = Cheung | date = Feb 12, 1981 | publisher = South China Morning Post |title = Refugee camps continue to close | url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.04/127424.pdf
In June 1979, camps were set up in Shamshuipo (closed March 1981)<ref name="closure">{{cite news | first = Donald | last = Cheung | date = Feb 12, 1981 | publisher = South China Morning Post |title = Refugee camps continue to close | url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.04/127424.pdf
}}</ref> and Jubilee (closed November 1980)<ref name="closure"/>; the Government opened the former Argyle Street Army camp to accommodate an estimated 20,000 refugees<ref name="feed">{{cite news | title = $125,000 a day for us to feed refugees| first =Eileen | last =Wong | publisher = South China Morning Post| url= http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.01/127087.pdf |date= May 31, 1979}}</ref>; the Kai Tak East camp was set up to house an estimated 10,000; a 23-storey factory building in [[Tuen Mun]] to house an additional 16,000 was set up<ref name="Tuen Mun">{{cite news | title = 500 move to Tuen Mun | date = June 5, 1979 | publisher = South China Morning Post | page =1 |url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.02/127098.pdf
}}</ref> and Jubilee (closed November 1980)<ref name="closure"/>; the Government opened the former Argyle Street Army camp to accommodate an estimated 20,000 refugees<ref name="feed">{{cite news | title = $125,000 a day for us to feed refugees| first =Eileen | last =Wong | publisher = South China Morning Post| url= http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.01/127087.pdf |date= May 31, 1979}}</ref>; the Kai Tak East camp was set up to house an estimated 10,000; a 23-storey factory building in [[Tuen Mun]] to house an additional 16,000 was set up<ref name="Tuen Mun">{{cite news | title = 500 move to Tuen Mun | date = June 5, 1979 | publisher = South China Morning Post url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.02/127098.pdf
}}</ref>, temporary facilities were established at the Government Dockyard and Western Quarantine Anchorage<ref name="feed"/>.
}}</ref>, temporary facilities were established at the Government Dockyard and Western Quarantine Anchorage<ref name="feed"/>.


The Chimawan Detention Centre would become the first closed camp after the Government passed the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 1982<ref name="closed camp"/>, set up on July 2. Plans for a second camp, at Hei Long Chau, were initiated at the end of July, shortly after the arrival of 1,523 refugees in the month<ref name="Rush">{{cite news | title = Rush job on closed camp | date = July 29, 1982 | publisher = South China Morning Post | page =1 |url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.04/127484.pdf}}</ref>. Another closed camp was set up in Cape Collinson<ref name="barbed wire"/>
The Chimawan Detention Centre would become the first closed camp after the Government passed the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 1982<ref name="closed camp"/>, set up on July 2. Plans for a second camp, at Hei Long Chau, were initiated at the end of July, shortly after the arrival of 1,523 refugees in the month<ref name="Rush">{{cite news | title = Rush job on closed camp | date = July 29, 1982 | publisher = South China Morning Post url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.04/127484.pdf}}</ref>. Another closed camp was set up in Cape Collinson<ref name="barbed wire"/>


The Whitehead camp was set up in Shatin to accommodate 28,000. Later, from June 1989, the runway of the former military airfield at [[RAF Sek Kong]] was turned into a holding facility to house an estimated 7,000 refugees, amidst protests from local residents<ref name="sek kong">{{cite news | last = Tam | first = Bonnie | title = Local march to show anger at Viet policy | date = June 18, 1989 | publisher = South China Morning Post | page =1 |url=http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.15/129081.pdf}}</ref>. Prior to the [[1997]] handover, the facility reverted to as an airfield and is now used by the [[PLA Air Force]].
The Whitehead camp was set up in Shatin to accommodate 28,000. Later, from June 1989, the runway of the former military airfield at [[RAF Sek Kong]] was turned into a holding facility to house an estimated 7,000 refugees, amidst protests from local residents<ref name="sek kong">{{cite news | last = Tam | first = Bonnie | title = Local march to show anger at Viet policy | date = June 18, 1989 | publisher = South China Morning Post |url=http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.15/129081.pdf}}</ref>. Prior to the [[1997]] handover, the facility reverted to as an airfield and is now used by the [[PLA Air Force]].


==Financial cost==
==Financial cost==

Revision as of 03:52, 25 April 2007

Many of the Vietnamese people in Hong Kong as a result of flight from the war and persecution in Vietnam since the mid-1970's.

Backed by a humanitarian policy of the colonial government[1], and under the auspices of the United Nations, a community of Vietnamese, mainly ethnic Chinese, were permitted to settle in Hong Kong.

The illegal entry of Vietnamese refugees was a problem which plagued the Hong Kong government for 25 years. The problem was only resolved in 2000.

Vietnam War and refugee migration

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the victorious Vietcong forces reunited the northern and southern halves of the country, many people began to flee out of fear of the new Communist Government. Many refugees fled across the border into Thailand, whilst others headed by boat to nearby countries, initially Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong[2].

Hong Kong received its first wave of Vietnamese refugees on 4 May, 1975. A 3,743-strong refugee group was found hiding on board the Danish freighter Clara Mǣrsk and were accepted as refugees. Although the Hong Kong Government declared them "illegal immigrants"[3], this arrival marked the start of a wave of refugee migrations to Hong Kong[4]. Initially, Western governments shirked responsibility for resetling any refugees. In 1976, the Hong Kong Government applied to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for material aid and faster processing of resettlement requests[5]. One year later, this first group of refugees, who had been under the responsibility of the Civil Aid Services, were entirely resettled in the United States, France, Germany, Australia, and Hong Kong[6].

In 1979, the Vietcong started ethnic cleansing in major cities in Vietnam, causing many Vietnamese to seek refugee status in Hong Kong. Hong Kong declared itself a First Port of Refuge. More than 68,700 people arrived in Hong Kong in 1979 alone[citation needed]. Soon, the Thai government stopped accepting refugees. Singapore, Malaysia did not allow the refugees to land, thus effectively turning the refugees away[2]. Hong Kong, with the status of "safe haven", soon became the leading destination. The BBC World Service spurred the choice by making known Hong Kong's 3-month grace period in which to make resettlement applications to third countries[7]. Hong Kong was also know for its liberal policy of allowing landed refugees the right to work.

The tide of refugees continued to flow, and in 1980, more than 100,000 Vietnamese sought refugee rights in Hong Kong[citation needed]. At this time, these migrants usually succeeded in gaining refugee status, and were eventually accepted by Western countries.

To deter the influx of refugees, new arrivals from Vietnam were interned in "closed camps" from July 1982 as possibilities for resettlement to third countries dwindled[8]. These camps were criticised for keeping freedom-seeking people "behind barbed wire"[9].

The United States started imposing sticter entry requirements on refugees in 1982 in a bid to slow the numbers accepted[10]. The war atrocities were long since over, together with the world-wide recession, came the realisation that the the refugees were predominantly economic[11]. Most refugees from Vietnam from about 1984 were part of the "orderly departure scheme" sanctioned by the Vietnamese government[12].

By 1987, many other Western countries had lowering their quotas for Vietnamese refugees whilst the influx into Hong Kong continued to increase, peaking at some 300 a day in 1989[13], fed by rumours that Vietnamese migrants could gain amnesty simply by landing on Hong Kong soil. The government adopted a Comprehensive Plan of Action on 16 June, 1988, separating political refugees (classified as refugees) from economic refugees (classified as "boat people"). Economic refugees were considered illegal immigrants; they were denied the right to be transferred to a third country and were all sent back to Vietnam.

The Comprehensive Plan of Action was carried out by 1994. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the Hong Kong government began to broadcast a Vietnamese radio announcement in an attempt to deter Vietnamese migrants from making way to Hong Kong. This came to be known as the Bắt đầu từ nay broadcast.

In the early 1990s, the Hong Kong government began an orderly repatriation programme. It began as a voluntary programme, but it was poorly received by the Vietnamese migrants, despite an agreement with the Vietnamese government that barred retributions against the migrants upon their return. Eventually, the Hong Kong government decided to forcibly repatriate the Vietnamese boat people[14].

As the situation in Vietnam improved, and the flow of boat people was stemmed, Hong Kong's status as a First Port of Refuge was revoked on 9 January, 1998. However, until 2000, Hong Kong still issued identity cards to the boat people in Hong Kong in an effort to allow them to assimilate into the society.

Facilities

The first batch of 3,743 refugees in 1975 had been settled in a civilian refugee camp in Chatham Road pending their resettlement. This camp was to be demolished in 1976[6].

Some 2,600 refugees aboard the vessel Skyluck which arrived on February 7, 1979 were refused the right to land due to a shortage of facilities, and were kept on board the vessel for over 4 months. The conditions were regarded as being superior to some terrestrial "transit camps"[15].

In June 1979, camps were set up in Shamshuipo (closed March 1981)[16] and Jubilee (closed November 1980)[16]; the Government opened the former Argyle Street Army camp to accommodate an estimated 20,000 refugees[17]; the Kai Tak East camp was set up to house an estimated 10,000; a 23-storey factory building in Tuen Mun to house an additional 16,000 was set up[18], temporary facilities were established at the Government Dockyard and Western Quarantine Anchorage[17].

The Chimawan Detention Centre would become the first closed camp after the Government passed the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 1982[8], set up on July 2. Plans for a second camp, at Hei Long Chau, were initiated at the end of July, shortly after the arrival of 1,523 refugees in the month[19]. Another closed camp was set up in Cape Collinson[9]

The Whitehead camp was set up in Shatin to accommodate 28,000. Later, from June 1989, the runway of the former military airfield at RAF Sek Kong was turned into a holding facility to house an estimated 7,000 refugees, amidst protests from local residents[13]. Prior to the 1997 handover, the facility reverted to as an airfield and is now used by the PLA Air Force.

Financial cost

The Security Branch revealed that, as at January 1983, the total cash outlay due to feeding and accommodating refugees had amounted to HKD270 million, of which 110 was borned by Hong Kong, HKD120 million by the UNHCR, and the remainder by international agencies[20].

The United Nations owed Hong Kong HK$1.61 billion for its handling of Vietnamese boat people[21], still outstanding as at 2006.

References

  1. ^ Cheung, Donald (May 27, 1981). "Humane refugee policy will continue says official" (PDF). South China Morning Post. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b Chang, Harold (June 25, 1977). "5,000 on way to HK in Vietnamese armada" (PDF). South China Morning Post. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Govt now calls them illegal immigrants" (PDF). Hong Kong Standard. May 23, 1975.
  4. ^ "Drive to place 3,750 goes on" (PDF). South China Morning Post. May 7, 1975. p. 1.
  5. ^ Polin, Tom (May 26, 1976). "Governor calls on UNHCR to do more" (PDF). South China Morning Post. p. 1.
  6. ^ a b Choi, Barry (June 25, 1979). "War's over at last for last 31" (PDF). South China Morning Post. p. 1.
  7. ^ Chang, Harold (June 26, 1977). "Vietnam escape trail paved with gold" (PDF). South China Morning Post. p. 1.
  8. ^ a b Cheung, Donald (June 16, 1982). "Exco 'Yes' to closed camps" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  9. ^ a b Chugani, Michael (December 7, 1984). "Council raps refugee policy" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  10. ^ Cheung, Donald (Feb 10, 1982). "Boat people intake slashed" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  11. ^ "A 'Catch-22' situation over refugees" (PDF). Hong Kong Standard. June 10, 1983.
  12. ^ "Friendless shore" (PDF). The Economist. January 28, 1984.
  13. ^ a b Tam, Bonnie (June 18, 1989). "Local march to show anger at Viet policy" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  14. ^ McKenzie, Scott (September 24, 1989). "Return trip to reality" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  15. ^ "2600 call off hunger strike" (PDF). Hong Kong Standard. June 25, 1979.
  16. ^ a b Cheung, Donald (Feb 12, 1981). "Refugee camps continue to close" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  17. ^ a b Wong, Eileen (May 31, 1979). "$125,000 a day for us to feed refugees" (PDF). South China Morning Post.
  18. ^ "500 move to Tuen Mun". South China Morning Post url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.02/127098.pdf. June 5, 1979. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Rush job on closed camp". South China Morning Post url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/02_09.04/127484.pdf. July 29, 1982. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Wong, David (Feb 3, 1983). "Cost of housing Viet refugees expected to soar" (PDF). Hong Kong Standard.
  21. ^ Cheung, Carmen (August 25, 1998). "HK chasing $1.6b debt from UN". Hong Kong Standard.
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