Let them stay

2002-1-12
editorial, South China Morning Post

The legal position on the right of abode is clearer now than at any time since the handover as a result of Thursday's ruling in the Court of Final Appeal. But this has come at a cost, in human terms. As a result of the judgment, around 10,000 people, involved in that case and others, face removal to the mainland and separation from their relatives.

Their lawyers intend to petition the Secretary-General of the United Nations, hoping he can persuade the Chief Executive to grant an amnesty allowing these people to stay.

But the Government does not have to wait for any initiative by the UN. It should grant an amnesty straight away as a humanitarian act that would bring the painful right of abode saga to a harmonious conclusion.

The court accepted the abode seekers had been misled by senior officials, creating among them a ''legitimate expectation'' that they had won the right of abode in January 1999. But their hopes were shattered by the reinterpretation of the Basic Law given by the National People's Congress Standing Committee later that year.

The court did not feel able to cure this injustice. But the Government, by exercising its discretion, could do so.

Such a step would not prompt an influx from the mainland, or create a legal precedent. It would be a one-off policy decision and would amount to an extension of the concession announced by Tung Chee-hwa on June 26, 1999, allowing an estimated 3,700 abode-seekers to stay.

The amnesty could apply to an easily identifiable group, perhaps those who filed legal actions for the right of abode before Thursday's ruling. Their numbers would be limited to around 10,000.

These would be people who have demonstrated their determination to fight for permanent residency. Many of them have been here for years waiting for their rights to be decided.

An amnesty would also prevent the ugly scenes feared if abode seekers have to be forcibly repatriated and the heartbreak of families being split and children torn from the classroom. It would show the world that Hong Kong is a place prepared to put humanitarian considerations first.