More than 200 mainlanders, mostly adult children of SAR residents, protested outside the Central Government Offices last night demanding to be allowed to stay. The protesters, many on tourist visas or two-way permits issued for family visits, said they would refuse to return to the mainland when their visas expired. They said the Government should allow them to stay following the Court of Final Appeal ruling giving children of Hong Kong residents right of abode. One Form Three girl, who sneaked into Hong Kong to live with her parents, missed school yesterday to join the protest, which began earlier outside Immigration Tower in Wan Chai. 'If I go back, I'll just be an orphan,' the girl said, crying. Li Yim-hung, 42, said she could not decide whether to return to the mainland when her two-way permit expired in 10 days. She had waited since 1980 for her application to be approved so she could live with her parents. 'They give higher priority to younger offspring. Older people like me with family of our own on the mainland will never be able to come here if we return to the mainland,' she said. 'My mother died without seeing her wish for me to live with her come true. Now my father is 65 and I just want to be able to look after him.' Mak Kwai-yan, assistant director of the Immigration Department's liaison and support division, urged protesters to not overstay their visas and to return home to apply properly. 'They must first apply for a certificate of entitlement from the Hong Kong Government . . . and based on the court ruling, they must apply for that from the mainland,' Mr Mak said. There are 530 people in Hong Kong on two-way permits who have applied for an extension. Immigration officials plan to notify them of their permit expiration deadline. Those who overstay would be deported if caught, officials said. Authorities fear that allowing those who are already here to stay would encourage a wave of others to sneak in. But protesters said they saw no hope of speedy family reunions if they returned to the mainland. All applicants have to join a queue to leave China and only 150 people are allowed to enter Hong Kong each day. Some people have waited for nearly 20 years. 'Why should we go back to the mainland?' one woman said. 'We've already waited for more than 10 years with no sign of hope. Now that the court has handed down a fair judgment, they should just let us stay. Our parents are permanent residents.'
