Beijing has, for the first time, expressed its concern over mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said yesterday.
Speaking during his four-day briefing in the capital, Tsang said his discussions with Premier Wen Jiabao marked the first time the issue had been raised at central government level.
Tsang briefed Wen on the implications and difficulties that Hong Kong faced as a result of the influx of pregnant mainlanders and how his administration would deal with it.
'For the first time, I raised our concerns over the mainland mothers issue [with a state leader], especially pinpointing the illegal deals of middlemen,' Tsang said last night.
'Wen acknowledged the high concern of Hong Kong people over the issue. I told him we hoped to enhance co-operation with mainland departments to tackle the middleman agencies.' At the centre of the issue is the right of abode granted to all children born in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government has capped the number of maternity beds for non-local mothers in public and private hospitals at 34,400 next year but there have been reports that some mainland agencies are helping women to abuse the system and gain admission to the city's hospitals via accident and emergency wards.
Tsang, who is making his last duty visit to Beijing before his term expires in June, said he also briefed state leaders on his administration's preparations to roll out more relief measures to help grass-roots groups and small businesses amid the dim economic outlook for next year.
