Along the Southern Boundary: A Marine Police Officer's Frontline Account of the Vietnamese Boatpeople and their Arrival in Hong Kong Paperback – 31 Jan. 2022

This book is written around a collection (or collections) of private photographs relating to the Vietnamese 'Boat people' who arrived in Hong Kong from the late 1970s onwards. The author, having been a Marine policeman who dealt directly with the arrivals, provides a mixture of personal experience, quotes from other involved and recollections from some of the refugees themselves. Without in any way being a 'deep' study of the issues, he also gives a brief, clear and reflective overview of Hong Kong's policies towards the "boat people" as 'refugees' and as 'economic migrants' over the period. An easy read, with some very good photographs, without in anyway being a polemic study of the problem it provides a fascinating 'taste' of the period and its problems, hopes, aspirations, fear, incidental bravery - and without dismissing the costs and tragedies suffered by many, includes some uplifting 'success stories'. Well worth a look