EJ InsightToday, 14:49
A mainland mother feels deep remorse over her decision to give birth to her daughter in Hong Kong.
Zeng Na told the Southern Metropolis Daily that she and her husband now face a dilemma because both of them are not Hong Kong residents.
If their child continues to study in Hong Kong as a cross-border student, she will have to spend an average of five hours commuting daily between home and school.
On the other hand, should they give up the school place in Hong Kong, they would struggle to cope with the high tuition from private schools in the mainland, while a growing number of private schools are not admitting students born in Hong Kong whose parents are not Hong Kong residents.
More than 200,000 children like Zeng’s were born in Hong Kong between 2001 and 2011.
The crisis came to an end after all public and private hospitals announced in April 2012 and January 2013, respectively, that they would cease taking prenatal appointments from couples who are not Hong Kong residents.
Another mother surnamed Liu said on top of the time-consuming and exhausting travels cross-border students have to endure on a daily basis, she always worries about the safety of her child.
According to the newspaper, many mainland parents now hope there will be a revocation mechanism that will allow them to reinstall their children’s identity in the mainland and send them to local public schools.
In a reply to media inquiries, the Shenzhen education bureau said it is conducting discussions on the issue.
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