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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (December 6):
Question:
More and more Mainland women come to Hong Kong to give birth and all their new-born babies have the right of abode (ROA) in Hong Kong. The Government has indicated that it has not come to a conclusion on the long-term effect of the issue on Hong Kong at this stage, and, in planning for public services, these babies are not counted as part of Hong Kong's population. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has conducted any comprehensive studies on the impact of Mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth on the objectives of the long-term population policy of Hong Kong; if it has not, of the reasons for that, and how the Administration can assess the magnitude of the burden on the local public services as well as the additional public expenditure should these babies come to reside in Hong Kong later on in great numbers within a short period, and devise accordingly a suitable long-term population policy for Hong Kong;
(b) the Government is studying options for curbing Mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth so as to achieve the objectives of the long-term population policy of Hong Kong; if it is, of the feasibility and merits of these options; and
(c) it has assessed if the situation in which any Chinese national born in Hong Kong has ROA in Hong Kong even if neither of his parents had been settled or had ROA in Hong Kong at the time of his birth is in compliance with the legislative intent of the relevant provision(s) of the Basic Law; if the assessment result is in the negative, whether the Government will consider activating the process for amending the relevant provision(s), so as to tackle the problem of a large number of Mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong?
Reply:
Madam President,
We have consulted the relevant policy bureaux and departments. Our reply to the three parts of the Hon. Kwok Ka-ki's question is as follows:
(a) Regarding the issue of Mainland women giving births in Hong Kong, as mentioned by the Government in its reply to the Hon. Kwok Ka-ki's question on November 15, 2006, there has been a noticeable upward trend in the number of babies born to Mainland women in Hong Kong in the recent years. Among which, the increase in the number of babies born to non-Hong Kong permanent residents is comparatively remarkable. In 2001, the number of such babies was 620; however, in 2005, it increased to about 9,200. In the first nine months of 2006, the number has exceeded 10,000.
The key objective of the Government's population policy is to improve the overall quality of Hong Kong's population to secure and nurture a population which sustains our development as a knowledge-based economy and world-class city. The Government has been very concerned about the issue of Mainland women giving births in Hong Kong, but at this stage has not come to any conclusion on its long-term impact. If the babies concerned return to and remain in the Mainland after birth, they will not be counted as part of Hong Kong's population. If they come to settle in Hong Kong afterwards, they will be counted towards our population figures. To allow the Government bureaux and departments to grasp the relevant statistical data to facilitate their assessment on the demand for services in areas such as medical and health services, education, social services and housing, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) conducts a population census/by-census and a population projection for Hong Kong regularly. Besides, the C&SD and other relevant bureaux and departments will also proactively study how to gather more information from different channels to enable the Government to grasp more statistics in handling the relevant subject.
(b) As the Government has not yet at this stage come to any conclusion on the impact of Mainland women giving births in Hong Kong, the Government has no plans to specifically target against such women giving births in Hong Kong from the perspective of the population policy. The Government will definitely closely monitor the situation, and take action in response as necessary.
(c) According to Article 24(2)(1) of the Basic Law, Chinese citizens born in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have the right of abode in Hong Kong. In 2001, the Court of Final Appeal ruled in the Chong Fung-yuen case that Chinese citizens born in Hong Kong have the right of abode in Hong Kong regardless of whether their parents have settled in Hong Kong or possessed the right of abode.
Regarding the question on the legislative intent, the Government's stance was clearly elaborated in the Chong Fung-yuen case in 2001. In a gist, the Government held the view that, from the overall intention of the relevant provisions of the Basic Law, the "Chinese citizens" referred to in Article 24(2)(1) of the Basic Law meant those whose father or mother must have been lawfully settled or have the right of abode in Hong Kong at the time of their birth or at any later time. Those who were born to illegal immigrants, overstayers or people residing temporarily in Hong Kong were excluded. Nevertheless, the Court of Final Appeal did not subscribe to the above view and has made a judgment. The Government respects the Court's judgment and at present has no plan to seek amendments to the relevant provisions of the Basic Law.
Ends/Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:41
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