Hong Kong residents to get equal rights in key areas on the mainland, report states

Beijing is planning to offer Hongkongers the same privileges as their mainland counterparts when studying, working or living across the border, starting with education, finding jobs, and some social benefits.

The announcement, in a report issued by the official ­Xinhua news agency on Wednesday, coincided with calls by President Xi Jinping to make it “more ­convenient” for Hongkongers to “study, work and live on the mainland” so that the city could take advantage of national development opportunities.

It also came as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wrapped up her four-day visit to the capital focusing on forging closer ties.

The Xinhua report said students from the city could get free education as well as more help in securing jobs, but those working or living on the mainland would have to wait longer for other ­benefits such as medical care.

In provinces and cities with a substantial population of Hongkongers, the education ministry would support local authorities to roll out measures and regulations to “create conditions” that would allow students to receive free ­education, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed official from the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

Macau residents would also be entitled to all the same privileges in provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang, as well as Shanghai and Beijing. But the report did not specify when or how the measures would be ­implemented.