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HK to Deport Overstayers After Mob Attack
The Hong Kong government said on Thursday it would immediately deport mainland Chinese overstayers after a mob set ablaze the territory's immigration office injuring 50 people, seven of them critically, according to Chinadaily.
The Wednesday evening attack was the latest in a string of violent incidents involving mainland Chinese seeking residency rights in Hong Kong.
"We will immediately deport those who can be sent back...they are those who have no stay of deportation or those whose cases have already been rejected by the courts," Immigration Director Ambrose Lee told reporters.
Lee did not say how many people could be deported but an immigration department official said up to 1,000 people could be sent back to the mainland as a result of the decision.
There are some 6,000 mainland Chinese overstayers in Hong Kong claiming residency rights. At least 5,000 are involved in lawsuits and have been given orders for a stay of deportation.
In Wednesday's attack, 20 mainlanders, angry after being denied local identity cards, torched the 13th floor of the Immigration Tower after dousing it with an inflammable liquid.
The fire was put out by the building's sprinkler system.
The incident, which left 23 immigration officials injured, one of the critically, drew criticism from the government and newspaper editorials on Thursday called for swift action to punish those responsible.
The government said six of those involved in the attack, including two women, had been detained. They had yet to be charged on Thursday.
The incident is almost certain to create a backlash for the hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese seeking residency in Hong Kong, where sympathy for them has virtually run out.
Social worker Ho Hei-wah, a long-time champion of the mainlanders, said: "Hong Kong society cannot tolerate violence and violence cannot solve anything."
"This incident cannot help them secure residence, in fact it will make it even harder for them to secure residency."
Pam Baker, lawyer for many overstayers claiming residency, said: "There's no way anyone can condone what they did... But we are talking about a small group of hotheads who have done something irrational."
"A lot of the others would be extremely upset about it."
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