The security chief yesterday joined opposition to a think-tank proposal to allow all qualified mainlanders to settle in Hong Kong immediately, saying there might be misunderstandings if an amnesty was granted.
Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee was responding to the proposal by the One Country Two Systems Research Institute, headed by pro-Beijing figure Shiu Sin-por.
He suggested on Tuesday that mainland wives and their children who had waited more than seven years to be reunited should be allowed into the SAR immediately. The proposal, if adopted, would clear the backlog for one-way permits in three to five years. The institute estimated 19,600 wives and 53,900 children would benefit.
Executive Councillor Tsang Yok-sing, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, had earlier expressed reservations on the proposal.
Mrs Ip said yesterday she did not believe the backlog of family reunions could be resolved because Hong Kong residents would continue to get married and give birth to children on the mainland.
'I envisage there will be an ongoing need for channels to allow mainland residents to come to Hong Kong,' she said after officiating at the passing-out parade of the Fire Services Department at Pat Heung.
