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Adrian Wong
Some say things that seems quite courageous,
and righteous, like "it would bring in skills, labour
and capital, hence it would enhance the economic development
of Hong Kong". And it goes on and on.
Personally, I believe the above concept has
been distorted and misunderstood, Mainlanders coming in before
the economic recession would exert great pressure and burden
on housing, education, unemployment, health and social welfare.
Statistics have identified that only 0.5%
of the total population of the world's largest population
size country are educated. Hence, most of the mainlanders
aren't educated, they are of cheap labour. When they immigrate
to Hong Kong under such economic recession, Hong Kong employers
would employ the mainlanders rather than the local residents.
Hence, the local people who are uneducated would be abandoned
and replaced. They would have no where to go, No opportunities,
no money, nothing!
Since most of the mainlanders aren't educated,
the mainlanders would have less contribution for the betterment
of Hong Kong. They would use up all the welfare, funds and
resources. This would lead to the economy getting even worse.
Also, Hong Kong is just a small, puny little
"dot" on the world map. Its total area of land is
nothing compared to China, the mainland. So, can a "dot"
accommodate a "spot"? Of course not!
Conversely, if we allow mainlanders to immigrate
to Hong Kong after the economic recession, we would have more
money to develop the Lantau Island for housing, more money
to build schools to educate them, and employers would have
extra money to employ more mainlanders. But laws should be
enforced that employers should give priority to employ Hong
Kong residents.
I'm not saying that we won't let them in,
I'm just saying that it is not the time. The economy has not
recovered yet. Hong Kong needs a rest. She needs to lie down,
lick off the blood from its wound and let it naturally repair
by itself.
Some people might say that we should respect
the Basic Law and the adjudication of the Court of Final Appeal
during the case of letting in the mainlanders some time earlier.
In that case, only the first generation of legally competent
mainlanders were allowed which consisted of 692,000 people.
What about the second generation? Why aren't they here? It
is because the government is trying all options to restrict
them from coming and to depress their feeling that coming
to Hong Kong is the most ideal decision. In the governments
mind, it had already consented that mainlanders coming in
will definitely cause housing problems and adaption problems
which, frankly, is a solid truth that is inevitable if they
come. Some migrant rights worker in Hong Kong also believed
that measures were needed to discourage mainlanders immigrating
to Hong Kong.
Therefore, the government had already took
action and suggested to build schools on the mainland with
Hong Kong curriculum. Referring to the problems of space,
resources and opportunities, I think the government should
not allow mainlanders in during the economic recession, and
restrict them from coming in after the economic recession.
Then the situation can be controlled. We should also set a
basic standard for the requirements of mainlanders to immigrate
to Hong Kong, like the minimum income you must have, the basic
knowledge you must attain, and the maximum family size. That
might be useful to control the huge wave of mainlanders.
Finally, Hong Kong is not UNICEF, Hong Kong
is not a place which provides unlimited resources and opportunities;
Hong Kong isn't a Utopia of the mainlanders. We are just an
ordinary, simple society. We have problems too! We have housing,
financial and welfare problems too! If we can't even take
care of ourselves, how are we supposed to take care of others?
The situation can best be described by a Chinese proverb,
"If you're a buddha made of clay, don't let yourself
be washed away by the river of emotions".
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