Archive > Chronology

Timeline – VBP Crisis in Hong Kong from 1975 to 2000

4 May 1975	First group of Vietnamese refugees arrived were 3743 rescued in the South China by the Danish container ship, Clara Maersk
19 Dec 1978	Arrival of the Panamanian cargo vessel Huey Fong with 3,318 people from southern Vietnam
7 Feb 1979	Arrival of the Skyluck, a freighter with over 2,660 Vietnamese refugees on board
10 Jun 1979	Highest number of refugees arrived in fishing boats in one single day was 4,516
27 Jun 1979	First Vietnamese refugee riot took place at Kai Tak Camp
Jul 1979	The British Government consented HK as the First Port of Asylum
Mid-1979	The first influx of VBP. By the end of September, there were 68,695 VBP in HK, highest since May 1975
2 Jul 1982	The Hong Kong Government introduced the Closed Camp Policy
Feb 1984	Major disturbances broke out in detention centres, prompted the government to separate North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese
16 Jun 1988	Hong Kong Government introduced the Screening policy applied to all new arrivals in HK to determine whether they were genuine refugees
Mid-1989	The second influx of VBP. By December, there were 34,000 new arrivals
1989	The UK, HK and Vietnam signed agreement for Repatriation Program
12 Dec 1989	First exercise of Mandatory repatriation of VBP
Apr 1992	First major riot between North and South Vietnamese in Shek Kong Detention Centre caused 24 death and 128 injured
1994	Second massive riot in White Head Detention Centre involved over 3,000 Vietnamese, more than 1,000 police and Correctional Officers, helicopters and hundreds rounds of tear gas
1996	Third massive riot in White Head Detention Centre, part of the camp was burn down and more than 200 detainees escaped
9 Jan 1998	The government announced the cancellation the First Port of Asylum policy
26 May 1998	Closure of High Island, the last Vietnamese Detention Centre in HK
22 Feb 2000	The end of VBP, The government announced a Widened Local Resettlement Scheme to allow some 1400 Vietnamese refugees and eligible Vietnamese migrants to apply for settlement in Hong Kong
1 Jun 2000	Closure of Pillar Point, the last Vietnamese refugee camp in HK