Abolition of the Port of First Asylum Policy

With the decision made by the Executive Council to abolish the portof first asylum policy in January 1997, the 20-year long policy comes to an end. With that, Vietnamese people arriving in Hong Kong illegally would be treated just like other illegal immigrants, that is, be deported immediatelyfollowing their arrival.

The policy, created at the height of the influx of Vietnamese boat peoplein 1979, had allowed Vietnamese to stay indefinitely in Hong Kong while applyingfor refugee status.

Until early January, there were 3,364 Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.Of these, 1,213 have been screened as "genuine refugees"".

The decision to amend Hong Kong's immigration law was announced along withmeasures to deal with Vietnamese people already here in Hong Kong.

The illegal immigrants would be repatriated within the four to six-month period that it takes Vietnam to process them for entry. About 1,700Vietnamese came in 1997. Secretary for Security Peter Hing-ling Lai said the government would press Hanoi to speed up the repatriation process and isseeking to set up a Hong Kong centre in Vietnam to screen the illegalimmigrants.

As for the Vietnamese who have refugee status, the Hong Kong governmentwant them to become self-reliant and lead a normal life as much as possible. Itplans to ask those who have jobs and are financially able to pay rent fortheir stay at the Pillar Point Centre, an open camp.

But Pam Baker, a lawyer who has offered free legal services to the Vietnamese, attacked the government decision. She said it was ridiculous tothink they could lead normal lives without Hong Kong identity cards.Without ID cards, they will have problems opening a bank account or evenapplying for a library card.

Meanwhile, Liberal Party leader Allen Peng-fei Lee asked why Hong Kong could not simply turn away Vietnamese illegal immigrants as soon as theyarrived. But human rights activists and even government officials said itwas not humanitarian to turn boats out to sea or to force those who came byland to return before a country was found to accept them.