Legislators were divided yesterday over whether legal changes to implement the reinterpretation of the right of abode provisions should be tabled next Wednesday.
Some said all changes should be introduced together in October, while some said the first amendment should be made immediately.
That amendment will alter the Immigration Ordinance to specify that mainland children are eligible to remain in Hong Kong only if one parent was a permanent resident when they were born. Further changes, to be introduced in October, will set out details for issuing documents to prove children have the right to live in the territory.
At a Legco subcommittee meeting yesterday, non-affiliated legislator Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum said there was no urgency for passing the first resolution.
Legislator Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, representing the legal sector, said she would vote against the resolution. She said that if the Government believed the National People's Congress Standing Committee's reinterpretation of the Basic Law was lawful and had legal effect, there was no need to rush through the changes.
'Sooner or later the court will interpret the Standing Committee interpretation if there are any further legal challenges,' she said.
