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Cliff Buddle

Stella Lee

Thousands of abode seekers gathered last night to plan protest action in the countdown to tomorrow night's deadline for them to leave Hong Kong.

A support group predicted two-thirds of the abode seekers would defy the order to return to the mainland.

The prediction came as high-profile businessman David Tang Wing-cheung accused the Government of 'callous and invidious behaviour' by rejecting some abode seekers' pleas to stay on humanitarian grounds.

It emerged yesterday that among the estimated 5,000 abode seekers facing possible forcible removal is a woman in her 60s pleading to be allowed to stay to care for her 101-year-old blind and deaf mother.

About 3,000 abode seekers last night discussed what action to take as the deadline approached. Removal action is due to begin on Monday after a grace period ends at midnight tomorrow.

The vice-chairwoman of an abode seekers' parent group, Ngai Siu-lai, said thousands of abode seekers and their parents would begin an overnight rally at Chater Garden at 9pm tomorrow. Concern groups will also stage a concert to show their support.

'We expect two-thirds of the 7,000 abode seekers will remain in Hong Kong by Monday - many more than officials expected,' Ms Ngai said.

The spokeswoman for the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, Jackie Hung Ling-yu, said they were considering taking the Government to court again after the meeting last night.

'We discussed applying for legal aid and finding another argument so we could sue the Government. But I can't say exactly what we are going to sue them for because we haven't decided yet,' she said.

Of the estimated 7,000 abode seekers affected by a January 10 court ruling that effectively ordered their removal, 2,213 had returned to the mainland by last night.

A security source was earlier quoted as saying that officials expected only 500 to 600 diehard abode seekers to remain beyond the grace period.

A total of 4,511 abode seekers have obtained penalty exemption documents, which allow them to return to the mainland without being penalised if they go back before the deadline.

The Immigration Department will keep the office in Central that issues the penalty exemptions open until tomorrow, after 902 abode seekers sought the letters on Thursday. Only 55 people obtained them yesterday.

The abode seekers will try to meet security officials and stage a protest outside the Court of Final Appeal on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Security Bureau last night repeated calls for the mainlanders to return before the deadline.

'Those who stay beyond their bail will be removed starting on Monday,' she said.

Among those facing removal are Lin Yeung-ming, 19, who had her pleas to stay with her twin sister rejected. Another abode seeker, Li Xiru, 73, returned to his home in Maoming, Guangdong, yesterday after his plea to stay with his 95-year-old father, Li Lik-fan, was rejected.

David Tang, the flamboyant owner of the Shanghai Tang stores and the China Club, said the Immigration Department should explain what more was needed for someone to qualify to stay on humanitarian grounds.

'I choked on my breakfast this morning on reading your report of the two exceptional immigration cases,' Mr Tang wrote in a letter to the South China Morning Post, referring to a story about Yeung-ming and Mr Li on Thursday. He went on: 'I think every man and woman in Hong Kong should be up in arms against [the Immigration Department's] callous and invidious behaviour.'

Solicitor Peter Barnes yesterday revealed that a woman in her 60s, whom he is representing, faced removal after her requests to stay on humanitarian grounds to take care of her 101-year-old mother were rejected this week.

'I don't understand why they cannot make the case an exception. There cannot be too many cases where someone has a mother who is very elderly, very sick, blind and illiterate,' he said.

The daughter had not taken her case to court but had asked the Director of Immigration to allow her to stay.

Officials had promised to consider all humanitarian appeals. None of the 500 appeals so far dealt with were approved.



Thousands plan abode protest