HONG KONG - Refusing entry to pregnant women if tourism is not the real motive

eTN Asia, 18-12-2006

Immigration authorities in Hong Kong are considering turning back pregnant women from the mainland at the border.

Observing that over 12,000 babies had been born in Hong Kong to non-resident parents in the
first 10 months of this year, a 20-fold increase since 2001, a senior official in Hong Kong has referred to such trend involving Chinese women as a serious and sensitive issue.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong has shared that one of the options on
board was for immigration authorities to refuse entry to pregnant women if the “tourist’s real reason for entering Hong Kong is not tourism”.

“Chinese women in advanced stages of pregnancy are testing the limits of the “one country, two
systems” arrangement between mainland China and Hong Kong by nipping across the border into the former British colony, delivering babies in public hospitals — and in many cases leaving without paying their bills,” reported media. “One reason why this “maternity tourism” thrives is that Chinese babies born in Hong Kong get permanent residency rights — and a slew of welfare benefits like free schooling and medical benefits. Additionally, many women seek out Hong Kong’s vastly superior public health service.”

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