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The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) delivered its ruling on the issue of right of abode on 29 January 1999. The judgement has given rise to much controversy and expressions of deep concern. Worries were expressed that the judgement would result in an influx of a large number of people from the Mainland who would then exert a great strain on the resources of the HKSAR. Through in-depth case interviews of newly arrived families from the Mainland, we hope to increase our understanding of the issue, which can only then lead to suitable directions for the formulation of policies and services in the future.
A qualitative case study was employed for this exploratory study. It was conducted through in-depth case interviews among new young arrivals from the Mainland and their families. The young interviewees, aged 29 or below, had entered Hong Kong legally on the ¡§one-way permit¡¨ after 10 July 1997. An interview guideline with open-ended questions was directed to solicit respondents¡¦ opinions. Twenty in-depth family-case interviews, with a total of 22 new young arrivals and 36 parents were conducted from 19 February 1999 to 18 March 1999. The analysis contains a synthesis of both the qualitative data from the respondents, as well as an extensive review of the literature.
First of all, the study analyses the characteristics of families with members from the Mainland through the compilation of various government statistics and survey data. In short, a typical picture of families with members from the Mainland can be summarized as follows: The families have to live in crowded or poor living conditions after the wives and young age children enter from the Mainland. Those family members who sought to enter the labour market, tended to take up less skilled jobs, or were unemployed. Their median monthly income was significantly lower than that of the whole working population in Hong Kong. Subsequently, they require substantial assistance from the Government in order to integrate comfortably into Hong Kong life.
In the qualitative case study, it is noted that to most of the respondents, ¡§having opportunities to climb up the social ladder¡¨ is the major attraction of Hong Kong. Some were so determined to come to Hong Kong that even though the main breadwinners were unemployed, retired or ill, with a concomitant decrease in the family¡¦s economic condition, they still persisted their application.
Most respondents indicated that they would not reside in the Mainland while enrolled by educational institutes, employed or accepted as recipients of Comprehensive Social Services Assistance. The ¡§safety-net¡¨ that comprised of a series of public welfare services, was the major factor that encouraged respondents to stay in Hong Kong after their arrival.
Opinions vary regarding the impact on Hong Kong by the influx of a large number of people from the Mainland. However, it is noted that the quality of the incoming population will be the determining factor. Hense, ¡§to attract the talented¡¨ and/or ¡§to limit immigration growth to a level with which society can cope¡¨ are the necessary considerations on developing strategies to accept the influx.
In view of the above discussion, the Federation will recommend:
Since the CFA¡¦s ruling, the growth pattern of the HKSAR population will inevitably be changed significantly in the near future, and that the government must respond to this as soon as possible and formulate a proactive population policy that could prepare Hong Kong for the next century. Strategies to receive the population influx should help to attract persons with required talents that benefit the future development of Hong Kong through a precise and concise assessment based on a systematic workforce data base. This should also tie-in with the socio-economic conditions and limit growth to a level with which society can cope, so as to avoid social disunity.
In recognizing the trend that a large number of people from the Mainland would continuously enter Hong Kong, the Federation recommends that the authorities concerned should assess this movement of people and their inclination towards consuming social services in a greater detail. It is advisable to map this out to a level with which society can cope, in terms of education, housing, medical facilities and general social welfare arrangements, and to plan and regulate the flow of people in a proactive manner.
As already mentioned, the quality of the population will be the determining factor in having a positive long-term impact. In view of the profile of people from the Mainland as shown above, the Federation recommends that the concerned authorities should consider strengthening the linkages between formal and informal education, employment services, retraining and adult education. Better co-operation among various training services will be more effective in terms of enhancing the competitiveness of the workforce, and integrating the new arrivals into Hong Kong society.
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Youth Study Series No.18
