Children with mothers on the mainland are the silent victims of a policy which creates broken homes, welfare groups say.
The Concern Group for Family Reunion of New Immigrants (Tsuen Wan) yesterday called for one-way permits to be issued to family groups rather than individuals to avoid segregation.
Fathers could be forced to live on welfare while looking after children whose mothers were stuck on the other side of the border, the group said.
Spokesman Wong Chi-hung called for the establishment of a regional register of families awaiting reunion.
Mainland-born children with parents in Hong Kong should be the priority, but the SAR must not forget their mothers, he said.
Tsuen Wan resident Poon Mei-on, 37, a construction worker who looks after three young children, says not enough attention is paid to the plight of wives.
He and his wife married 11 years ago, but she is still living in Guangdong.
