Hong Kong may bar mainland Chinese mothers
from giving birth in public hospitals next year to ease over-crowding in local
maternity wards, the city's health chief said on Tuesday.
Since
it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong has benefited from
its deepening integration with China. Yet the unfettered access of mainland
Chinese to public services in the densely populated city has also caused social
strains.
"Right
now, we expect that in 2013, all public hospital obstetric services may be
reserved for local pregnant mothers," Hong Kong's Health chief York Chow
told reporters.
The
comments came after the financial hub's leader-elect, Leung Chun-ying, said
private hospitals should bar mainland Chinese mothers and that their newborns
will no longer be able to claim permanent residence in the city.
"If
they apply now and prepare to come to Hong Kong next year to deliver their
babies, in all likelihood, their babies will not have permanent residency
status in Hong Kong because once I assume office, I will surely work on
this," Leung told Hong Kong's Cable Television in an interview on Tuesday.
Leung,
a property surveyor and Beijing loyalist was chosen in March to succeed the
bowtie-wearing Donald Tsang by a 1200-member, largely pro-Beijing election
committee, in a scandal-tainted contest that protesters denounced as a
"small circle" affair puppeteered by Beijing's leaders behind the
scenes.
Leung's
tough stance on the mainland mothers signals a move toward a more populist
agenda once he takes office on July 1 that has included pledges to provide more
land for public flats and to make housing more affordable.
No specifics
Leung
did not say if the city would pass laws or use other methods to stop the
children of mainland parents from gaining the right of abode, or permanent
residency, in Hong Kong.
The
pledges by authorities to tackle the hot-button issue come after street
protests by local mothers, heated online debates and provocative advertisements
in local newspapers denouncing mainland Chinese visitors as
"locusts", including mothers crowding out Hong Kong's maternity wards
for months.
In
2010, of the 88,584 newborns in Hong Kong, around a third, or 32,653 were born
to mainland women, up from 620 babies in 2001.
The
influx has spawned an industry of agents shuttling Chinese mothers across the
border, hiding them in illegal 'inns' before birth, partly to circumvent
China's one-child policy and also to gain the right the live in one of the
world's most developed, wealthiest cities.
A broad
provision in Hong Kong's mini-constitution grants Hong Kong citizenship to any
Chinese born there.
"Everyone
should know Hong Kong society already has a clear consensus about this matter.
One, delivering babies of couples with no residency right is not the way we
want to develop our healthcare industry. Two, such offspring are not the
solution to the problem of our ageing population," Leung said.
Chow,
the city's health secretary, said that he was in touch with Leung and respected
his view of suspending the quota system, but a final decision had yet to be
made.
Private
hospitals that increasingly rely on maternity services said a sudden policy
change would have a major impact.
"Can
we change our mode of operation? Yes we can, but not suddenly. If we are given
say three years, we can make a long- term plan," said Alan Lau, chairman
of the Hong Kong Private Hospital's Association.
But
Henry Yeung, president of the Hong Kong Doctors' Union, said blocking automatic
permanent residency would ease the crowding at maternity wards.
"This
move will return maternity beds to local mothers. Before this trend, private
hospitals managed to survive."
Reuters
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