Single mainland mothers protest at Tamar in bid to be reunited with Hong Kong-born children
The group submitted a petition and appealed to Hong Kong security minister John Lee Ka-chiu to liaise with mainland authorities
Dozens of single mainland Chinese mothers of Hong Kong-born children protested at the government headquarters in Admiralty on Saturday and demanded authorities speed up the process to allow them to permanently settle in the city.
The mothers said they had been waiting for around eight years on average for a one-way permit, a document issued by the Chinese government that allows residents to leave the mainland without a time limit.
Time to renegotiate policy that allows 150 mainland Chinese to settle in Hong Kong every day
Around 180 such single families involving 200 children had sought help from SoCO as the mothers are mainland residents without the right to abode in Hong Kong and can only come to the city with a visit visa. Their children are permanent residents in the city since they were born to Hong Kong fathers.
The families are separated for at least two weeks every three months, as the mothers have to renew their documents back in the mainland.
SoCO organiser Sze Lai-shan said little had improved in the past seven years despite the group discussing the long-running problem with several government departments.
Trapped in an unbreakable cycle of poverty, Hong Kong’s single mums just want to work
“Lunar New Year is a time for family reunions, but these families have not been able to reunite for many years,” Sze said.
“I hope the government can help these families so that the children could grow up happy.”
