Illegal Immigrants

During the year, seven Ex-China Vietnamese Illegal Immigrants (ECVIIs)
were returned to the Mainland. The ECVIIs are Vietnamese migrants who
settled in the Mainland before arriving in Hong Kong. Having obtained
asylum in the Mainland, they are considered to have no further claim to
refugee status or resettlement. The government's policy has been to treat
them as illegal immigrants and to repatriate them to the Mainland, in
batches, by land and air.

In 1995, some ECVIIs challenged the decision to return them to the
Mainland. The High Court dismissed the action and an appeal against this
decision was rejected by the Court of Appeal. The appellants then took the
case to the Privy Council, which handed down judgement in their favour
on November 21, 1996. As a result, screening of these ECVIIs has to be
carried out.

At the end of 1997, there were 1 161 Vietnamese illegal immigrants in
Hong Kong. Great efforts were being made towards stemming the
outflow of Vietnamese illegal immigrants to Hong Kong and expediting the
clearance and repatriation process in co-operation with the Vietnamese
Government.

With the whole Vietnamese migrant saga entering its final chapter, the
HKSARG has conducted an overall review of its policy on Vietnamese
refugees, migrants and illegal immigrants. The aim is to resolve the
problem of the remaining Vietnamese refugees and migrants, and to speed
up the clearance and repatriation of Vietnamese illegal immigrants.

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