Pregnant Fu Mingxia gets special treatment, husbands complain

Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung was yesterday asked to explain whether his pregnant mainland wife Fu Mingxia was receiving special treatment by being allowed to give birth in Hong Kong.

The Society for Community Organisations said some Hong Kong husbands had complained, asking why the Olympic diving gold medallist was allowed to come to Hong Kong while pregnant when their mainland wives could not. Two legislators also asked for an explanation.

Society spokeswoman Sze Lai-shan said the society had received complaints after reports surfaced that Ms Fu would give birth at Queen Mary Hospital.

However, a spokesman for Mr Leung yesterday said Ms Fu held a valid two-way permit and her stay in Hong Kong was legitimate.

While he refused to confirm whether Ms Fu would give birth at Queen Mary Hospital, he said she would be admitted as a private patient and would pay the full fee if she gave birth in Hong Kong.

Ms Sze said that while there might not be any official rules barring them, most mainland women married to Hong Kong men had their two-way permit applications rejected if the Public Security Bureau discovered that they were pregnant.

She said that in the past some provinces, such as Guangdong, had demanded that suc wives produce a medical report to prove that they were not pregnant.