THERE HAS been a sharp rise in the number of women from mainland China crossing the border into Hong Kong to have babies.
Expectant mothers in the People’s Republic believe hefty fines for breaking the one-child policy might be waived if the baby is delivered in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong authorities have now banned women from mainland China from having children in the territory until the end of the year because their maternity facilities are under pressure. They said, however, that the booking service for non-local pregnant women would resume in January.
“September to December is the peak season for births,” Hong Kong hospital authority spokeswoman Beatrice Cheng told state-run radio station RTHK.
“There will be 20 to 30 per cent more deliveries compared to non-peak times.”
The mainland mothers are keen for their offspring to become permanent residents of Hong Kong. This offers many benefits in social welfare and travel; a Hong Kong passport, for example, is much more useful than a Chinese passport in terms of international travel.
Between 2001 and 2008, the number of mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong rose from 620 to 25,000, putting an enormous strain on the city’s public health services.
Many women also travel to give birth in Hong Kong, which has a population of 6.9 million, in anticipation that their children will enjoy a higher standard of medical care.
One-quarter of all births in the former Crown colony in the first eight months of this year were by non-local citizens, while the delivery rate of local citizens has continued to rise in recent years.
Relaxed border rules in 2003 led to a flood of women crossing the border to give birth, sometimes arriving by the coach-load in “maternity tours” organised by enterprising middlemen.
Comments on websites show how the practice is viewed in China.
“Hong Kong citizenship could help your children to easily enter famous universities on the mainland or in Hong Kong. And babies born in Hong Kong will not be limited by the mainland’s one-child policy,” wrote one webizen on Tianya, China’s top online forum.
Fines for breaking the one-child policy can be three to five times a parent’s annual income.
The webizen also listed the benefits of free education for 12 years and an internationally recognised high-school diploma, combined with the fact that Hong Kongers do not need to apply for a visa to visit 137 countries.
“Giving birth in Hong Kong is the way to give your children the brightest future possible on the smallest budget. Hong Kong has a world-class medical service. Your baby gets Hong Kong citizenship. And a baby born in Hong Kong gets social welfare there,” the webizen wrote.
Chen Weixiong, a social worker at the Mainland-Hong Kong Families’ Rights Association, told the Global Times the ban was too sudden and it was “unfair” to turn away pregnant women.
Local media reported that the health authorities had raised obstetrics fees for non-local pregnant women to HK$39,000 (€3,340).
The price includes a confirmed booking certificate, antenatal checks, delivery and a three-day hospital stay.
In February 2007, the hospital authority started imposing charges of up to €4,000 for each non-resident birth, which initially led to a fall of almost 40 per cent in mainland Chinese women giving birth in the city.
But they soon started coming back and reportedly about 20 per cent left without paying for the maternity services.