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Undocumented mainland Chinese boy, 12, could be put up for adoption, grandmother says

Options are running out for grandmother of Yau-wai, 12, as authorities reject visit permit, leaving her hoping others can give him a family

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Chow Siu-shuen and her 12-year-old grandson, Siu Yau-wai, in Shenzhen. Photo: Sam Tsang

The grandmother of a 12-year-old mainland Chinese boy who lived undocumented in Hong Kong for nine years says she would consider putting him up for adoption after authorities across the border rejected his application for a permit to visit the city.

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Chow Siu-shuen, 67, said mainland Chinese officials did not tell her why her grandson Siu Yau-wai's application for a two-way permit was denied.

"I filled out all the forms with the hope that I could finally take him back to Hong Kong. But it did not work out. I was not given an explanation as to why the application was rejected," Chow told the

Yau-wai was abandoned by his parents on the mainland when he was still an infant. His grandmother took him to Hong Kong in 2006 on a two-way permit, which he then overstayed.

The case was brought to light at a controversial press conference organised by Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Chan Yuen-han last month.

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The boy, who lived undocumented in Hong Kong for nine years, was granted temporary papers to stay, while his grandmother was arrested for helping breach conditions of stay and granted bail. But Chow made a sudden move a few weeks later to take Yau-wai to the mainland.

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