HK migrant refused Australian refuge

Cheng Chiu-leung (centre) was allowed to see officials

A man from mainland China seeking the right to live in Hong Kong has been refused political asylum by the territory's Australian consulate.

Cheng Chiu-leung, 31, walked into the consulate on Thursday morning and asked to be allowed to move to Australia, where he said he had a sister.

Because I'm poor, the Hong Kong Government discriminates against me

Asylum-seeker Cheng Chiu-leung

Though he said his parents, grandparents and brother live in Hong Kong, Mr Cheng does not qualify for right of abode in the territory and is one of thousands of people who face deportation to the mainland.

The Australian consulate in Hong Kong said in a statement that after senior consulate general officials assessed Mr Cheng's case they found he had "no grounds to claim political asylum".

'Political persecution'

Mr Cheng had asked to see Consul General David O'Leary. Mr O'Leary was away, but Mr Cheng was granted a meeting with his deputy, John Pilbeam, before being told he could not have asylum.

"I have a home but I can't return to it," he told the Associated Press news agency afterwards.

"Because I'm poor, the Hong Kong Government discriminates against me," he said.

"This is political persecution."

Up to 4,000 mainland Chinese have been in hiding in Hong Kong since January, when they lost their final legal appeals for residency.

Many of the people seeking the right to live in Hong Kong have parents or other relatives who are already residents.

But the abode seekers do not meet the strict criteria laid down by Hong Kong and Beijing to stop a flood of migration after the 1997 resumption of Chinese sovereignty.

Mr Cheng, who was born in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong which borders Hong Kong, said he was being persecuted by the territory's officials who believe he should be sent back.