Hong Kong To Refuse Pregnant Women From Mainland China
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
HONG KONG — Pregnant women from mainland China who are near their due date will be turned away at Hong Kong borders if they cannot prove they have appointments in the city’s hospitals, officials said yesterday. The number of births by mainland Chinese women in Hong Kong nearly doubled in 2005 — to 19,538 from 10,128 in 2003— according to the city’s Hospital Authority. Many come to evade China’s one-child policy, take advantage of higher quality health care or earn Hong Kong residency rights for their babies.
The former British colony of Hong Kong is now under Chinese rule, but it remains separately governed and maintains immigration controls. Hong Kong residency, which is required to live in the city, is coveted by mainland Chinese because of the higher standard of living here and prospect of a better education for their children.
