The World - News from Sept. 14, 1989

More than 61,000 “boat people” fled Vietnam in the first eight months of this year, a figure higher than in any full year since 1981, and Hong Kong is bearing the brunt of the influx, a U.N. group said. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees registered 61,345 arrivals in countries of first asylum in Southeast Asia and Japan from January through August, just before seasonal conditions traditionally slow down the exodus. The outflow compared to 45,500 for last year and 74,000 in 1981. Hong Kong reported 32,000 arrivals during the first eight months.