China to limit Hong Kong visits by pregnant women

Some Hong Kong hospitals are fully booked by expectant mothers from outside the territory as new measures to stem an influx of mainland Chinese women giving birth in the city loom, officials said yesterday.

The new policy, effective from Feb. 1, will bar women who are seven months pregnant or more from entering Hong Kong unless they are already booked in at a hospital.

It will apply to all non-residents but is principally aimed at deterring pregnant women from China from seeking last-minute admissions to hospital emergency wards to give birth.

The authorities want to crack down on unpaid bills -- minimum charges for non-residents will be nearly doubled -- and free up resources by prioritizing residents.

Babies born in Hong Kong to at least one parent of Chinese origin are also automatically granted Hong Kong permanent residency. Partents have used this loophole as a way to give their children access to the territory's medical, social welfare and education advantages.

A week before the measures come into effect, the Hospital Authority said nearly 700 expectant mothers had made appointments with public hospitals in Hong Kong.

Several of the hospitals are turning away non-residents because they are fully booked while some have been booked up until May.

Although there are no signs that pregnant Chinese women are flooding to Hong Kong to give birth before the new measures become effective, the Authority expects the demand for maternity services will continue.

"We are expecting that there may be a possibility that more mainland women will make appointments here after Feb. 1," said Beatrice Cheng (鄭信恩), an official at the authority.

Cheng said that some 85 percent of non-residents failed to make an appointment before they gave birth in Hong Kong.

Millions of mainland Chinese cross the border for travel and business every year, but there has been an influx recently of pregnant women coming to give birth.

The issue has drawn complaints from local expectant mothers, many of whom claim they have arrived at their due date but could not be admitted because of a shortage of hospital beds.

They also complained of difficulty in receiving proper medical treatment in time because of a lack of doctors and nurses.