Hong Kong's Response to the Indochinese Influx, 1975-93

Abstract

The changing nature of the population flows from Vietnam to Hong Kong between 1975 and mid-1993 is examined in this article. Hong Kong's population is largely a product of refugee movements from China. Over the period under discussion, official policy toward all arrivals, whether from China or from Vietnam, became much more restrictive. The first wave of Vietnamese to Hong Kong mostly consisted of ethnic Chinese. These were relatively quickly recognized as refugees and resettled. The later waves of ethnic Vietnamese have been held in closed camps; those arriving after 1988 have been subject to screening to determine their refugee status. Those screened out are repatriated either voluntarily or forcibly to Vietnam. The outflows from Vietnam can be fully understood only after a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the origin and destination economies and societies. An economic dimension is usually present in supposedly political flows.