The Hong Kong government will take steps to stop pregnant mainland women who have not undergone proper medical check-ups from entering Hong Kong to curb the increasing misuse of hospital resources.

The government announcement came after an inter-departmental meeting, headed by Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui.

Government statistics show that the number of babies born to mainland parents in Hong Kong had risen from 620 to more than 10,000 in five years. Also, some mainland women had not settled their hospital bills, putting more pressure on the SAR's medical system.

The government generally welcomes tourists, Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee said, but some pregnant mainland women were not coming as tourists, even though they had valid tourist visas, but to misuse Hong Kong's public resources.

The government will discuss with the mainland authorities ways to stop such women from entering Hong Kong, he said, although they could be denied entry even under the existing laws despite having a tourist visa.

"The Director of Immigration has the authority to ban the entry of tourists if he finds that they are not coming to Hong Kong for tourism," he said. The Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and the Hospital Authority will be consulted on ways to stop such women from misusing their tourist status in Hong Kong.

But, Lee said, the government will not ask the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to interpret the Basic Law to tackle the problem.

Some academics had suggested that NPCSC interpret the Basic Law to clarify the rights and benefits enjoyed by children born to mainland parents in Hong Kong.

"The government has stressed many times that the interpretation of the Basic Law is an important and sensitive issue. We will not carelessly ask for an interpretation. Under the circumstances, we should aim at providing enough labour facilities for local women and reduce the use of medical resources by mainland women soon," he said.

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow, too, said steps would be taken to deter pregnant mainland women who have not undergone pre-natal check-ups from abusing Hong Kong hospitals' emergency services, though a concrete plan to tackle the problem was yet to be devised.

The government has analysed the January-June data on local pregnant women who underwent pre-natal medical check-ups, and found that hospitals have enough capacity to cater to their needs.

Chow said the Hospital Authority would announce a series of measures to tackle the problem after discussing it at a board meeting.

The government will ensure that local women get the medical care they need, and strengthening of resources was under consideration.

(China Daily HK edition December 15, 2006)