bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Almost 700,000 mainlanders have the immediate right to live in Hong Kong under the controversial court ruling on right of abode, the Government said yesterday.

 And close to another one million will be eligible after seven years.

 Releasing the figures, Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said the influx would be an extremely heavy burden that might become unbearable.

 The figures were revealed in a survey of 10,000 households conducted after the controversial Court of Final Appeal ruling in January. The judgment awarded right of abode to illegitimate children of Hong Kong residents and children born before one of their parents became permanent residents.

 Of the total 1.67 million estimated to have right of abode, about 692,000 are immediately eligible.

 The remaining 983,000 are classified as 'second-generation eligible', meaning they win the right in seven years' time, when their 'first generation-parents' become permanent residents.

 If the first generation were to arrive within a reasonable period of three years, the quota of one-way permits allowing them to stay would have to be increased from 150 a day to 1,000 a day, Mrs Ip said.

 Officials, headed by Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang, were assessing the impact on the economy, jobs, housing, welfare, health and education, she said. The findings would be announced next week.

 A government source rejected a claim by legislator Cyd Ho Sau-lan that releasing the figures before the assessments were ready was an attempt to frighten people.

 'The consequences are really serious . . . The public has the right to know,' the source said.

 'It's absolutely not an exaggeration - 1.7 million represents one-fifth of our present population. Our population was growing at an average of three per cent each year before the [court] ruling.'  The source said the options included:  Accepting the influx;  Amending the Basic Law;  Asking the court to reconsider its ruling.

 The source said: 'Yes, we can build more hospitals, schools, housing and accept them all. This is a possibility.

 'The ruling is already a piece of law that we have to respect and implement. But the fact remains - we don't have a magic wand.'  The source said amending the Basic Law to reduce the number of those with the right of abode could only be done by the National People's Congress, which meets only in March.

 'There are 11 months before next March. How are we going to cope during this period? Then there is the question of retrospective power. How are we going to cope with possible mass illegal immigration?'  He said another option was for the court to make another ruling exempting itself from the earlier judgment.

 This would be in line with a Privy Council judgment in 1966, which said such rulings were acceptable in cases of great importance.

 'We hope to listen to the views of the community before deciding the government strategy,' the source said.

 'As some legislators have said, Hong Kong is a migrants' society. [People can consider] whether we can bite the bullet and construct a new Hong Kong.'  Mrs Ip, speaking in Legco, said it would not be reasonable to delay by administrative means the entry of those entitled to right of abode.

 Assuming three years as a reasonable period, Mrs Ip said 640 migrants would have to be allowed in each day. Taking into account the 150 daily quota and about 100,000 eligible spouses, 'we may need to increase the daily quota for one-way permits to 1,000'.

 However, this would bring a range of problems, including worsening unemployment and a heavier burden on welfare payments.

 'These are all severe problems and it is not easy for the Government to find solutions.

 'Tens of thousands of mainland residents settling in Hong Kong will cause a rapid increase in population and the unemployment rate, and a more crowded living environment,' Mrs Ip said.

 'The problem of hillside squatters may also reappear and education and medical facilities may not be able to meet the demands of a substantially larger population.

 'There is a possibility that our environment, and the present ecological balance may be badly affected too.'  Estimates before the survey for those eligible ranged from several hundred thousand to three or four million.

 Mainland Basic Law Committee member Wu Jianfan said people had to reach a consensus if they wanted Beijing to help.

 He said NPC delegates would not necessarily agree to amend the Basic Law. 'Some may think the provisions are quite clear. The problem just arises from a different interpretation,' he said.



Court gives 1.67m right of abode