The individual visit scheme, which since July 28 last year has allowed mainlanders to visit Hong Kong solo, has generally been regarded as a boost to the economy which does not create much of a social problem. A frontline doctor in the Hospital Authority, I am letting the public know about brewing social issues which result from the scheme. In 2002, the number of babies born to mothers visiting from the mainland was 8,739. In 2003, the number was 10,168, 21.7 per cent of all babies born in Hong Kong. In the first eight months of this year, 35 per cent of the babies born in one public hospital were born to mainland transients. While there is a public impression that the annual birth rate in Hong Kong is falling steadily, there was an increase of 11 per cent in births in that hospital last year over 2002. In the government's reply to a legislator on July 7, it said that only 24.8 per cent of these mothers were the spouse of a holder of a Hong Kong identity card. In other words, about 75 per cent were mainlanders who might just be coming to Hong Kong to deliver their babies. This is not difficult to understand. Some parents want to have a second child, which is not in line with the national one-child policy. Others feel that the health care delivery system in Hong Kong is more reliable. Also, the Basic Law stipulates that babies born to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong are permanent residents here. There is every reason to believe that the number of babies born to mainland mothers in Hong Kong will increase, especially as the individual visit scheme was extended in July to cover 30 cities in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces with a total population of 250 million. Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said in a written reply to a legislator that whether a visitor is pregnant or not is not part of the immigration requirements. About 88 per cent of these mothers choose to deliver their babies in Hong Kong's public hospitals. This creates great tension in obstetrics and newborn services. The Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff, after receiving grievances from members in different public hospitals, spelled out the problems associated with this surge in deliveries in a letter to the Hospital Authority last week. Ninety per cent of the mothers in public hospitals do not have antenatal care. Yet many complications of pregnancy such as severe hypertension have been found when they are admitted, sometimes in advanced labour in emergency wards. One reason for the lack of antenatal care might be the fees - being a 'non-entitled person', they are charged $700 per visit. After their babies are born, most of the mainland mothers discharge themselves - within 24 hours of admission - even after a caesarian section because each day in hospital costs them $3,300. (Some public hospitals in Hong Kong choose to keep babies 48 hours in line with the policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.) This early discharge from hospital puts the mother and baby at significant risk, especially the baby. NAME, ADDRESS SUPPLIED Patriotism plug harmful I cannot agree more with the leader headlined 'Healthy patriotism is not for spoon-feeding' (Sunday Morning Post, October 3). The 45-second video shown before the evening news on Chinese-language television channels and intended to promote patriotism is indeed superfluous. It is erroneous to assume that opposition to the Article 23 bill or any other policy that is not well received, is a reflection of weak national feeling on the part of Hong Kong people. Policymakers need to realise that when people voice a different opinion to a certain policy, this is not to say they have weak national feeling. When people voice what they believe is right, they are exercising the rights and duties of a citizen. In fact, this is not something a government needs to worry about. On the other hand, policymakers should worry when people refrain from making known their desires and become subservient towards authority. The broadcast of this video is overboard. Withdraw it, because it is likely to do more harm than good in promoting healthy patriotism. LEE CHI-YUEN, Causeway Bay Clean polluted streets Perhaps Derek Mackay ('Mainland and pollution', October 2) can share with us in which part of Hong Kong he was living 30 years ago where there was no pollution. My experience differs from his. In September 1970, I vividly remember walking down Nathan Road and arriving at my hotel in pollution so bad that I sneezed repeatedly. My handkerchief was black from particulate pollution. I used a tissue to clean my ears, and it too was black. It is true that when I visited friends on The Peak, I did not experience this level of filth. But I assure you, Hong Kong was polluted then and, as now, those crushed near buses in such places as Mongkok, Causeway Bay and Central suffered the most. The technology is available to give us pollution-free buses, so there is no excuse. It is time for us to take personal responsibility for our own polluted streets and clean them up. ANNELISE CONNELL, Mid-Levels Make law to curb Aids Hosting high-stakes fund-raising events for Aids victims or urging people to follow safe sex practices are not helping to contain the increase in Aids in the region. We have laws to punish people who end the lives of terminally sick people by performing mercy killings. But we have no law to stop youth from falling prey to this contagious disease, for which no cure is in sight. Aids is being passed on, sometimes with wilful intent, through sexual contact and illegal blood transfusions. It is high time we drafted stringent laws to signal that the offenders are murderers and to punish them along with their accomplices. To curb the wildfire spread of Aids, we urgently need US-like anti-terror laws. Only with such drastic steps can we win the war against this terrible disease. Since there is no immediate cure, we have to opt for prevention. D. KAMLESH, Tsim Sha Tsui Plea on Cantonese I read 'Tear down Hong Kong's linguistic ghettos' (September 29), by Cecilie Gamst Berg, with interest. She says that in Hong Kong 'it is no longer the case that foreigners are too lazy or intransigent to learn Cantonese, but the locals are simply not willing to let them practice.' How true. I have been a resident of Hong Kong for nearly 11 years. Four years ago, I began to learn to speak Cantonese. But when I try to practise my newly learned skills, I am usually met with an impatient look coupled with a hasty switch to English by the listener. The only chance I get to practise is when the listener is old or cannot speak English and has no choice but to wait for me to complete my sentence, even if it is in broken Cantonese. Perhaps the hectic work lives of Hong Kong people mean that stopping for a moment to listen to a foreigner practise Cantonese equates to a waste of valuable time. I hope not. I still look forward to the day I can freely converse in Cantonese, as I am sure many foreigners do. But as long as locals do not encourage us to learn the language, this day will remain distant. CATHERINE K. CLAVIOLO, Central Help the disabled I congratulate members of the Hong Kong Paralympics team who recently returned from Athens. It is a pity that more celebrations have not been organised for these competitors, and that the local media - the South China Morning Post excepted - did not provide more coverage of their events. As a small token of the public's appreciation, I hope the government and society will try to make life easier for all disabled people in Hong Kong. One way is a commitment to make all polling venues in 2008 fully accessible to members of the community. RICARDO FULLER, Tsim Sha Tsui
