Hong Kong protesters rail at revelation of boy without papers who spent 9 years in hiding
Incensed radicals take it out on lawmaker and a school that floated idea of enrolling the child
The case of an undocumented 12-year-old boy who spent nine years in hiding yesterday became the focal point for protests from radical groups complaining about local resources being used to help non-Hongkongers.
The protesters earned condemnation for surrounding the offices of the lawmaker who was helping the boy, Siu Yau-wai, and targeting a school he visited after his case came to light.
Their actions proved too much for one pupil of the school, who burst into tears upon seeing protest posters featuring the boy plastered on the school doors.
The protesters said lawmaker Chan Yuen-han's high-profile handling of the case, including revealing Yau-wai's identity, was not in his best interests. They also expressed concern that allowing an illegal migrant to stay would set a dangerous precedent.
"Chan Yuen-han, go to hell, Siu Yau-wai, return to the mainland," the crowd of about 40 people shouted at Chan's Wong Tai Sin office and the nearby Confucian Tai Shing Primary School.
Yau-wai's case had gripped the city since Thursday, when his grandmother Chow Siu-shuen, 67, disclosed she had brought him to Hong Kong while he was just three. The boy had since been largely confined to their flat for fear of being caught, she said.
Chow was arrested for aiding and abetting a person in breaching conditions of stay, while Yau-wai received temporary papers pending investigation.