A group of successful abode seekers yesterday scaled down a protest over long-awaited identity cards after immigration officers hastened verification work.
About 10 abode seekers submitted a petition to the Immigration Department yesterday, urging officers to issue their identity cards, or at least complete verification work, before July 1.
Group member Ng Hong-kwan said the abode seekers reduced yesterday's planned rally involving 100 people outside Immigration Tower in Wan Chai when the department hastened the process, with more applicants being asked to verify family relationships over the past week.
The move came after Mr Ng's group complained last week that more than 100 of them had not been issued with identity cards nearly five months after winning residency in Hong Kong.
The successful claimants are a minority of the 5,114 mainland appellants ruled to be entitled to right of abode by the Court of Final Appeal on January 10.
The Immigration Department said last week only seven of the successful appellants had so far had their status verified, entitling them to identity cards.
