Crying foul over passport plea for sports star
I read with dismay the news that the chairman of the Hong Kong Badminton Association wants the government to issue a passport to Zhou Mi, in order to qualify her for selection to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games ('Zhou 'needs a HK passport now' ', November 14).
A Hong Kong SAR passport is issued only to permanent Hong Kong residents.
Under the Basic Law, a Chinese national like Zhou, who presumably was born outside Hong Kong, would have to be resident here for seven years in order to become a permanent resident.
Therefore, the badminton association wants the government to depart from the Basic Law.
There is another, more fundamental point. It is, I believe, a common if not universal immigration policy that a work permit should be given to an imported worker only when the talent required is not available locally. Similar consideration should apply to the selection of sportsmen to compete in the Olympics.
A sportsman may not be a worker in that sense. Yet, to all sportsmen, the chance to play in the Olympics is no less valuable than a job vacancy is to a worker.
