The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said on Saturday the Chong Fung-yuen right to abode case was over.

The case caused "deep concern" from the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Xinhua news agency said.

A statement by the Hong Kong government said, "We have taken note of the comment made by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC regarding the decision of the Court of Final Appeal. In dealing with future cases, we will consider this view carefully.

"In delivering the judgment on the Chong Fung-yuen case, the Court of Final Appeal stated clearly that it would abide by any interpretation given by the NPCSC. The Chong Fung-yuen case has been concluded. The Hong Kong SAR government accepts and will act according to this judgment."

The statement was in response to media enquiries about the statement made by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC about the right of abode issue.

The SAR government was disappointed with Friday's ruling by the Court of Final Appeal on the case, but it respected the Court's judgment, according to Acting Secretary for Security Timothy Tong.

Chong Fung-yuen was born in Hong Kong when his mainland parents came to the region on two-way permits. The SAR government believed he was not eligible for right of abode in Hong Kong, but the Court ruled against the government.

A spokesman of the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPCSC said that the NPCSC had offered explanations for some clauses in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR on June 26, 1999.

"We have noticed that since then courts in the Hong Kong SAR have emphasized several times that these explanations are binding on courts in the Hong Kong SAR in dealing with cases related to the right of abode in Hong Kong, have made some decisions according to the explanations," said the spokesman.

"However, the ruling by the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong SAR on Friday on the right of a abode case involving Chong Fung-yuen did not fully correspond with the explanations and we are deeply concerned about it," he said.

Tong said that the Immigration Department would take appropriate measures to implement the Court's decision.

Commenting on the possibility of an influx of mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth as a result of the ruling, Tong said that even when the Court hearing was in progress, government departments, including the Police and the Immigration Department, were in close contact with the relevant mainland authorities to work out measures to prevent that from happening.

According to statistics, the number of mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth in the first half of this year was on the downward trend, Tong noted.

Immigration Department statistics show that there are a total of 2,202 known cases of children born in Hong Kong to mainland mothers who were non-permanent Hong Kong residents since July 1, 1997.

(Shanghai Daily 07/23/2001)