HK deportation law comes under fire from youngsters<\/p>\n
By Carrie Lee<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Reuter): \"I won't go even if they kill me,\" said
\nfive-year-old Ng Sze-man, who sneaked into Hong Kong together
\nwith her mother a year ago.<\/p>\n
\"I want to stay,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Ng was one of hundreds of children born in mainland China who
\nqueued with family members before dawn at government offices on
\nMonday to seek legal aid to stay in the territory.<\/p>\n
They sought to challenge a new law that threatens to have them
\ndeported for entering the territory illegally, even if they are
\neligible for residency rights here.<\/p>\n
The scramble repeated scenes of recent days but a new
\ndevelopment has given the children fresh hope -- a Hong Kong
\ncourt on Saturday issued an injunction to stop immigration
\nofficials deporting three children pending a hearing.<\/p>\n
About 344 children have applied for legal aid to fight the
\nlaw, passed last week. Some 47 applications have been approved.
\nThe law, backdated to July 1 when Britain handed Hong Kong back
\nto China, requires children to return to China to have
\nappropriate immigration papers approved, which can take years.<\/p>\n
Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitution which took
\neffect on July 1, a Chinese national born outside Hong Kong has
\nright of abode here if one parent is a legal Hong Kong resident.<\/p>\n
However, Hong Kong officials fear a flood of child illegal
\nimmigrants unless they return the kids to China to apply legally.
\nAn estimated 66,000 children of \"separated families\" are waiting
\nin China to join parents in this capitalist enclave.<\/p>\n
Families often resort to smugglers to sneak them in or face
\ndemands for bribes by Chinese officials who handle their papers.
\nCheung Li-lan, who was smuggled in with two younger siblings
\nthree months ago, appealed to Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't have a family in China,\" said 13-year-old Cheung,
\nwhose parents were both Hong Kong residents.<\/p>\n
\"In China our schoolmates discriminated against us, saying we
\ndidn't have parents with us.<\/p>\n
\"It's not our fault. It's not our parents' fault. We only hope
\nUncle Tung will let our family be together,\" she said.
\nA father of another illegal immigrant girl vowed to smuggle her
\nin again if need be.<\/p>\n
\"She will sneak in again. There's no alternative,\" he said.
\nSocial activists and legal experts have condemned the new law as
\nunconstitutional because it retroactively restricts rights
\nconferred by the Basic Law.<\/p>\n
Others criticized its rushed passage -- the new legislature
\ninstalled after Hong Kong's handover passed the three readings of
\nthe law in a single day.<\/p>\n
More than 100 lawyers have offered to help the children free
\nof charge, Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Audrey Eu said.
\n\"We in Hong Kong, we are a democratic society which believes in
\nthe rule of law,\" Eu told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"So if you have a situation where children who apparently have
\nthis right under the Basic Law are removed on short notice
\nwithout legal assistance, that of course in itself concerns
\nlawyers,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hk-deportation-law-comes-under-fire-from-youngsters-1447893297",
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