Government will not appeal for Basic Law interpretation from Beijing if it loses key case

A direct approach for help from Beijing will not be made by the Government if the top court disagrees with it in a right-of-abode battle involving a three-year-old boy, a high-ranking administration source said yesterday.

Instead, it will look for other ways to close the door to pregnant mainland women who might seek to give birth in Hong Kong, the source said.

Measures such as preventing women eight months' pregnant from visiting the SAR are being contemplated, but amending the Basic Law is out of the question, the source said.

The comments came after the Government asked the Court of Final Appeal to seek guidance from the National People's Congress on the case involving three-year-old Chong Fung-yuen, born in Hong Kong while his mainland parents were visiting on two-way permits.

He twice won in the lower courts, which ruled that Chinese nationals born in Hong Kong automatically qualified for the right of abode. The ruling applied to children born to mainland parents who had sneaked into the territory, overstayed or entered on two-way visitors' permits.

The Government fears an influx of pregnant mainland women, and claims the right of abode does not extend to children of illegal immigrants, overstayers and people just visiting.

Counsel for the Government will try to convince the court, in a two-day session starting on March 5, that it has a constitutional obligation to refer the case to Beijing. According to government statistics, more than 700 Chinese babies, with neither parent a permanent resident, were born in Hong Kong last year. In 168 cases, both parents were non-residents.