The head of the Immigration Department yesterday dismissed suggestions that the government had resorted to scare tactics in its fight against pleas by domestic helpers to be allowed the right of abode in Hong Kong.
Eric Chan Kwok-ki, director of immigration, rejected claims that the authorities were playing on the public's fears by releasing data showing that 125,000 foreign domestic helpers have been living in the city for seven years or more.
Most people who have worked in Hong Kong for seven years are entitled to permanent residency, with the exclusion of domestic helpers.
'It's a factual number,' Chan said, when asked about the figure.
'It's not an estimate of how many foreign domestic helpers would apply [for right of abode]. [It] is a figure of the number of foreign domestic helpers who have lived [in Hong Kong] for seven years.'
His comments came on the day that the South China Morning Post revealed that just 631 foreign domestic helpers, some 0.5 per cent of the 125,000 total, have applied for permanent residency since September, when the High Court ruled that the ban on residency for domestic helpers was unconstitutional.
The court's ruling, which the government is appealing against, was made in the case of Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino helper who has lived in Hong Kong for 25 years.