World Notes HONG KONG

Hong Kong ran out of patience last week. For 13 years, the British colony has served as a way station for tens of thousands of Vietnamese boat people. But last week, after this year's flood of newcomers almost doubled the colony's refugee population, to more than 16,500 people, the government declared that all future arrivals will be detained as illegal immigrants, ineligible for resettlement unless they can prove they are victims of persecution. Only some 10% are expected to be able to do so. Sympathy is in especially short supply for the latest arrivals, most of whom come from northern Viet Nam.

As boats filled with refugees arrived in Hong Kong harbor last week, police went aboard to inform the passengers of the new policy. The refugees will be held in detention camps, probably for years, until the Vietnamese government agrees to take them back.