HK immigrants lose right to stay

This woman learned her 16-year-old daughter must leave

After a lengthy legal battle, Hong Kong's highest court has ruled against most of a group of 5,000 mainland Chinese citizens seeking the right to stay in the territory.

Some of the migrants wept openly as they heard that only around 200 of them would be eligible to remain.

Sooner or later our system will flush them [illegal immigrants] out

Secretary for Security, Regina Ip

The Hong Kong Government says the rest will have to return to the mainland before the end of March.

The verdict from the Court of Final Appeal is a victory for the authorities in Hong Kong and the mainland which want to control and restrict the numbers of mainland Chinese settling in the territory.

The Secretary for Security, Regina Ip, told the BBC that she did not think the government would need to round up the migrants.

"Sooner or later our system will flush them out," she said.

"They have nothing to gain by hanging around not being able to work. They are much better off going back to the mainland."

What can I do in the mainland? They will put me in jail.

Chinese mainland citizen

Outside the court, there was confusion and despair. One person said: "I definitely don't want to go back to mainland China. Since I have been here three years I have been working illegally.

"What can I do in the mainland? The mainland customs will put me in jail."

Long battle

Since the former colony was returned to China in 1997, the issue of how many mainland Chinese residents are given right of abode in Hong Kong has been one of the most contentious facing the territory.

The ruling allows 200 people to remain in Hong Kong

The migrants have been fighting against deportation for two-and-half-years.

In June 1999, the Chinese Government overruled a Hong Kong court decision earlier that year which granted residency rights to anyone with a Hong Kong parent.

The controversial re-interpretation followed a request from the Hong Kong authorities, who said they feared being swamped by an influx more than one-million mainlanders.

The court ruled that only those in Hong Kong before the territory's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 have an automatic right of abode, while those who applied before the first court ruling in 1999 may stay at the discretion of the immigration department.

According to a lawyer for the migrants, Rob Brooke, another 300 people who were not involved in the case could also benefit.

Most of the claimants are relatives of mainlanders who moved to Hong Kong. They were prevented from joining them by China's tight immigration policies and either entered Hong Kong illegally or entered on tourist visas and overstayed.

Strong police presence

Police stepped up security near the Immigration Tower and other government facilities ahead of the decision.

About 150 police stood guard outside the courthouse Thursday. Officers said between 500 and 600 officers were on standby in case of trouble.

In August 2000 a group of residency claimants tried to set fire to themselves in Hong Kong's immigration headquarters.

One residency claimant and a senior immigration officer were killed.