Health chiefs will take a fresh look at the system of hospital booking charges for pregnant non-local women after coming under fire for discriminating against Hongkongers with mainland wives.
Legislators and mothers' representatives said yesterday the policy under which pregnant women who do not have Hong Kong identity cards have to pay HK$39,000 to give birth in public hospitals was unfair and divisive.
Democrat Yeung Sum said women married to Hongkongers and their babies were part of Hong Kong families and should be treated as such.
Deputy secretary for food and health Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said the government would re-evaluate the policy, introduced in February last year to ease the pressure on hospitals from a flood of mainland mothers.
But he noted that the primary purpose of public hospitals was to serve local people, identified as those holding a Hong Kong ID card.
The issue was debated at a meeting of the Legislative Council health services panel, marked with a protest outside by members of a female mainland arrivals concern group and a population policy concern group.