NIKKI.SUN@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 04 December, 2015, 6:37pm
UPDATED : Friday, 04 December, 2015, 7:01pm
Fewer mainland people are now crossing the border to settle in Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong.
Fewer mainlanders are taking up one-way permits that allow them to settle in Hong Kong, with officials expecting the decline to lead to just two-thirds of the daily quota of 150 arrivals to be used up in the medium to long-term.
At the same time, the development has prompted the government to cut its annual population growth projection from 0.6 per cent in the 2011 estimate to 0.2 per cent.
READ MORE: Growth spurt: report shows 879,000 Hong Kong residents now from mainland China
Acting Commissioner for Census and Statistics Stephen Leung Kwan-chi told lawmakers today that the use of the daily quota under the scheme, which had been slipping since 2013, would decline further, with mainlanders using only 100 out of the 150 daily permits available.
Under the scheme, up to 150 permits are available for mainland applicants every day. Many are mainland mothers who are seeking to join their children and husbands in Hong Kong.
“People coming to Hong Kong under the scheme remain an important driver of population growth in Hong Kong,” said Leung, suggesting the underutilisation of the 150 daily places would affect overall population growth in Hong Kong.
According to government statistics, the use of the daily quota under the scheme reached its peak in 2012, with an average of 149 mainlanders admitted to Hong Kong every day. However, that number has been declining since then, with 123 people in 2013 and 111 last year.
However, a paper given to lawmakers said: “The revised assumption should in no way be construed as any intention to change the [one-way permit] scheme”, adding the mainland authorities have no plan to revise the existing quota.
“Given the prevalence of cross-boundary marriages which have made up almost 40 per cent of locally registered marriages, there is a continued need for the scheme to enable separated spouses and their children born on the mainland to come to Hong Kong for family reunion,” said the paper.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1886838/fewer-mainland-chinese-settle-hong-kong-leading
