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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Kam-lam, and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (July 5):
Question:
According to the information from the Census and Statistics Department, the number of Mainland women who gave birth in public hospitals in Hong Kong increased from some 8,700 in 2003-04 to 12,300 in 2004-05, and its percentage in the total number of child deliveries in public hospitals increased from 25 per cent to 31 per cent correspondingly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether all the children born in Hong Kong to these Mainland women have applied for the Hong Kong Certificate of Registration of Birth over the past two years;
(b) whether it has assessed the impact on our society such as housing and education needs etc, of an increasing number of children born in Hong Kong to Mainland parents; if it has, of the impact; and
(c) whether it will take measures to prevent Mainland women from coming to Hong Kong for child birth?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) According to section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap. 174), the father or mother of every child born alive in Hong Kong shall, within 42 days after the day of such birth, give information to a registrar according to the best of his or her knowledge and belief of the several particulars required to be registered (such as the name of the baby, date and place of birth). Moreover, section 10 of the Ordinance provides that it shall be the duty of every registrar to procure by all means in his power the best and most accurate information respecting any birth which may have occurred within his district and to cause the same to be registered. In accordance with section 22(2)(a) of the Ordinance, any person shall be entitled, on payment of the relevant fee, to require a copy of any entry in the register, certified under the hand of a registrar as a true copy of the entry (commonly known as birth certificate); or in accordance with section 9(4) of the Ordinance, any person obtaining registration of any birth shall be entitled at the time of registration to receive free a certificate of such registration (namely the Hong Kong Certificate of Registration of Birth) in the prescribed form.
The Immigration Department does not have detailed statistics on whether all the children born in Hong Kong to Mainland women have applied for the Hong Kong Certificate of Registration of Birth.
(b) As the mothers of the relevant babies born in Hong Kong are not Hong Kong residents but Mainland residents, we believe that many of such babies return to the Mainland with their mothers soon after birth. If these babies remain in the Mainland for a long period, statistically they will not be counted as part of Hong Kong's population. If they come to Hong Kong to live afterwards, they will be counted towards our population figures based on their immigration records. In compiling population projections, the Census and Statistics Department will take into account the trends in births and deaths as well as the trends of passenger movements in and out of Hong Kong, and make reference to advice from various relevant bureaux and departments in coming up with the most appropriate assumptions for projecting future population changes. Hence the Census and Statistics Department updates the population projections of Hong Kong once every two to three years to incorporate the latest demographic data and trends. Population projections provide a common basis for planning of housing, education, social welfare, medical and health services etc. As regards short-term operational planning, individual government bureaux/departments will frequently examine the actual latest population figures in detail.
(c) Subject to the meeting of normal immigration requirements (e.g. adequate funds for visiting Hong Kong) and there being no suspicion as to their intention of visiting Hong Kong, visitors who hold a valid travel document (including those from Mainland) may be allowed to enter Hong Kong. The Immigration Department will not refuse the entry of a visitor solely because it suspects that the visitor may be pregnant. There are also enforcement difficulties. Even if the Immigration Department may refuse the entry of pregnant women, those who intend to give birth in Hong Kong may choose to come to Hong Kong at an early stage of pregnancy and overstay in Hong Kong to give birth.
The HKSAR Government is concerned about the issue of Mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong. It should be noted that, according to the figures of 2005, the fathers of over 50 per cent of babies born in Hong Kong to Mainland mothers are Hong Kong residents. Therefore, even if these babies were not born in Hong Kong, they might still apply to come to Hong Kong under the One-way Permit Scheme. Relevant bureaux/departments of the HKSAR Government will continue to closely monitor the situation of Mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth.
Ends/Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:03
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