April, 2007

Discrimination against Mainland Pregnant Women of Hong Kong Families

Rose Wu

"Since the Hospital Authority . . . [began] to charge mainland mothers new fees from February this year," says Tsang Suk-ling, a social worker of Hong Kong Caritas who has been providing immediate services for many mainland pregnant women and their Hong Kong spouses, "many families are forced to either seek an abortion or to borrow money from loansharks because many of them cannot afford to pay the fees."

She also criticised the Hospital Authority for, instead of obtaining the Legislative Council (Legco) Finance Committee's endorsement, seeking endorsement from hospital governing committees and having the fees gazetted so the new fees could be implemented immediately without launching any public consultation.

The Hospital Authority estimates that new births at public hospitals will increase to 45,000 with about 30 percent of babies, or 13,500, born to people not eligible to receive government aid. This figure compares with 12,072 births to non-locals for the whole of last year at public hospitals. In order to ensure that local mothers get priority over non-local mothers, the government decided to raise the fees for non-local pregnant women. While local people will continue to enjoy hospital beds at HK$100 (US$13) a day, non-residents will face maternity-package fees of HK$39,000 (US$5,000) if they have booked in advance with prenatal checks and HK$48,000 (US$6,154) for those who turn up at emergency rooms.

The new package, including the higher fees for mainland pregnant women, was introduced 15 months after the Hospital Authority increased maternity fees for non-locals to HK$20,000 (US$2,564) as it battled to control the demand of mainlanders for these medical services. The influx is believed to be due to a court ruling that babies of Chinese parents born in Hong Kong have automatic right of abode.

In addition to raising the fees, the Hospital Authority also launched the new policy to coincide with the new immigration policy that requires mainland women who are 28 weeks pregnant or more to show a confirmed booking certificate issued by a hospital in Hong Kong.

The new policy was denounced by a Hong Kong man whose mainland wife is now eight month's pregnant. He said that the policy is unfair since he is a Hong Kong citizen. They should enjoy the same benefits as other Hong Kong couples, he added, even though his wife is a mainlander.

He also criticised Chief Executive Donald Tsang for encouraging local people to have three children, for how could he have more babies, he asked, if the fees are so high? He said he would not make a booking since he has no money to pay the fees. He may send his wife to the emergency unit at the last minute, he said, even though it might be dangerous for her and the baby.

Viewed from the principle of justice and equality, the government's policy discriminates against pregnant women from the mainland as the policy does not apply to women from overseas whose husband is a Hong Kong citizen. As well as paying the hospital fees of HK$39,000, the couples may have to pay extra money for other unanticipated charges, such as unexpected operations. The hospital also will not give any refund if the birth ends with a miscarriage.

To express their anger and frustration, 30 pregnant mainland women and their Hong Kong spouses launched a public protest on March 5. One woman said she had to join the action despite being only a month away from giving birth.

"There is no way we can raise HK$39,000 by the end of the month," she said.

The protesters burned their petition letter for Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok after they waited in vain for half an hour outside a government building in an attempt to secure a meeting with him. The Hong Kong husbands wore plastic sieves over their stomachs as a symbolic act to tell officials they wished they were the parent giving birth as it would spare their spouses from discrimination and extra fees. Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan and social worker Tsang Suk-ling as well as other protesters threatened to launch a citywide march if the government refused to repeal a policy which has sharply increased obstetric fees charged to mainlanders.

The protesters also met legislators on the same day. Legislator Albert Cheng King-hon, who chaired the meeting, said he would set up a special Legco panel to study the policy and individual cases.

In view of this desperate situation, HKCI and other women and Christian organisations formed a coalition to support these families fight for justice. Our demands include:

1. Treat mainland pregnant wives of Hong Kong men the same as other Hong Kong
　 families,that is, hospital beds should be charged at the rate of HK$100 per day;

2. Grant mainland pregnant wives of Hong Kong men their rights to enter Hong Kong and
　 be reunited with their families in Hong Kong;

3. Evaluate and amend the Hong Kong population policy, basing it on the principle of
　 justice and honouring family values and placing family reunion as the top priority.

Farewell and Thank You to Debby Chan Sze-wan

On behalf of the HKCI family, I want to express our heartfelt thanks for our project secretary Debby Chan Sze-wan's unique contributions to our institute, especially her efforts to organise and promote our Civil Society Education Project in secondary schools and her commitment for human rights and poverty in Hong Kong as well as other Asian countries. As she begins a new chapter of life in Thailand with her further studies in international human rights, we want to wish her many meaningful experiences and a bright future.