Hong Kong localist groups to again protest against one-way permit scheme, blaming it for overcrowding in public hospitals
- Activists say they are not inciting hatred against mainland Chinese but rather want to address a source of anti-mainlander feeling
- Social welfare NGO, the Society for Community Organisation, says localists have no hard evidence migrants responsible for overcrowding
Localist groups are to hold their second protest in two weeks on Sunday against a controversial migrant scheme that allows 150 mainland Chinese per day to move to the city.
They want the numbers allowed in through the scheme to be cut and for it to be reviewed but said they are not spreading hatred against new arrivals but rather want to address the source of that hatred.
The localists blame the so-called one-way permit scheme for overcrowding at public hospitals but a social welfare group has criticised them for fomenting ill feeling against mainland Chinese without solid evidence that new migrants are the key cause for the crisis.
According to the Hospital Authority, the overall occupancy rate for medical wards in 15 public hospitals across the city was 105 per cent on Wednesday. Over the past month, 25 out of 30 days have recorded a percentage exceeding 100, with eight of those days reaching more than 110 per cent.