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Journalism of Courage
HONG KONG, January 27: Children born in China to a parent from Hong Kong scored a victory yesterday when a judge ruled that a law barring them from living in the former British colony was unconstitutional.
The ruling could entitle tens of thousands of China-born children to Hong Kong residency, a community organizer said.
Judge Brian Keith’s ruling applied to children barred from Hong Kong because their parents only became permanent Hong Kong residents themselves after their children were born, Hong Kong radio said.
The judge ruled that the law, passed by an unelected legislature set up by Beijing when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in July, contravened the basic law, Hong Kong’s China-approved Constitution.
The Constitution guarantees Hong Kong residency to all children with at least one Hong Kong parent.
The government said it would appeal yesterday’s ruling.
But Hong Kong resident Ng Mei-Lei, whose 12-year-old daughter, Lai Sze-Nga, has lived illegally in Hong Kong since last March after fruitless years of waiting for official permission to come here, said “the judge has made a wise decision.”
Her daughter was among 81 children involved in yesterday’s case.
While the judge’s ruling should guarantee that the children, most of whom are living illegally in Hong Kong, get residency rights, they still may face deportation for entering Hong Kong illegally.
Millions of Hong Kong people travel to China each year for work and to visit relatives. Many Hong Kong men have married in China and had children there. But Hong Kong’s former British rulers barred most China-born children for fear they would overburden schools and housing.
The government estimates there are 77,000 children in China with at least one parent who were already Hong Kong permanent residents at the time of birth.
Even though the basic law guarantees them residency, the children still need permits to claim the right to live in Hong Kong.
Only 150 permits are granted each day and the application process can take years, so many parents have instead smuggled children into Hong Kong.
The government estimates 1,000 children are staying illegally in Hong Kong. Other reports suggest that figure is too low.
Human rights activists have challenged the constitutionality of the permits in court, arguing that the children should be able to claim residency without first getting official permission.
They lost the case last year, but are appealing.
The government said that until that appeal is heard, it would not seek to deport children involved in yesterday’s ruling.
