A pair of abode-seeking siblings who were deported to Shenzhen but took daily lessons by phone from SAR friends have been reunited with classmates after being granted Hong Kong residency.
Ho Po-kwan celebrated her 14th birthday yesterday with an emotional return to school. She and her brother, Ho Chi-sheung, 12, obtained their one-way permits to settle in Hong Kong on Monday and returned to school yesterday - three months after the South China Morning Post highlighted their plight.
Problems with their mother's identity documents had prevented the siblings from enrolling in a school in Shenzhen since being deported in September. They had to resort to daily phone calls to ex-classmates in Hong Kong to continue their studies.
While Chi-sheung caught up with friends at his school in Hunghom, his sister's returned on her Tai Po school's sports day. Neither school wanted to be identified.
Po-kwan told the South China Morning Post that seeing her friends was the best possible birthday present. 'I'm so happy to see them again,' she beamed. 'It seems such a long, long time.'
Po-kwan's classmates sang Happy Birthday and presented her with a photograph of her Form Two class taken during the school's Christmas party.
Her teacher, Patience Hung, said: 'Po-kwan is not in the photograph. We gave it to her as we wanted to share the moment with her. Her classmates have been very good by giving her both spiritual and actual support. Po-kwan may have walked a different path from others, but she has gained an experience in the process. She has faced it very positively.'