About 2,000 to 3,000 mainlanders, including children, will be allowed to jump the queue for entry to the SAR by the end of the year. The group comprises children with both parents in Hong Kong, and adults whose parents need to be looked after. The numbers were revealed yesterday by the Guangdong Public Security Bureau following the rule change last week. Up to 150 mainlanders are allowed to emigrate each day. In the past, wives of Hong Kong men and children with one parent from Hong Kong filled 138 of the 150 quota, leaving only 12 for people in other categories, according to the Immigration Department. 'We have sufficient spare quota to cater for the new groups of people,' a department spokesman said. The Guangdong bureau said there would be about 30 to 60 places a day for the two new groups. The rule change raised fears that wives and children waiting to join Hong Kong men must wait longer. Society for Community Organisation director Ho Hei-wah asked: 'With only 60 days to complete this year, how can one manage to let all the 3,000 people enter Hong Kong given the present daily quota arrangements? It is totally unrealistic and I fear applicants in other categories may suffer as a result.' Ho Wei-he, vice-commissioner of the bureau's propaganda department, said: 'We have allowed many separated wives and children to enter Hong Kong in the past. Some get married, apply and they are granted one-way permits. But now we must be fair to the others.' He said wives separated from Hong Kong husbands since 1986 or longer will have all emigrated by the end of the year. So far this year, the bureau has found eight cases of fraud involving mainland adults who claimed they needed to care for elderly parents in Hong Kong.
