Update | Abandoned boy, 12, divides opinion in bid for Hong Kong residency
Fears of copycat cases clash with humanitarian concerns in a debate triggered by Siu Yau-wai's nine years of living under the radar
Hongkongers are split over the fate of a 12-year-old boy who has lived in their midst without official identification for nine years, with some calling for him to be allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons and others fearing the case may open the floodgates.
NGOs say they have indeed seen more children in similar situations.
In the spotlight is Siu Yau-wai, who at age three was brought to Hong Kong by his grandmother Chow Siu-shuen from Shenzhen in 2006 using a two-way permit, allowing only a short visit, after his parents abandoned him on the mainland.
"There needs to be an investigation into whether his claims are real and honest. If they are, [the government] should not deport him," Billy Wong Wai-yuk, executive secretary of the Committee of Children's Rights, said yesterday. "We signed the [UN] Convention on the Rights of the Child … We should view this from the child's standpoint and decide what is best for him."
Wong noted Yau-wai had nowhere to "return to", contrary to callers on a phone-in morning radio show who expressed fears allowing him to remain would encourage an influx of illegal migrants and overstayers.