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HK Pledges No Amnesty for Mainland Abode-right Seekers
Hong Kong has ruled out the possibility of granting an amnesty to thousands of Chinese mainlanders seeking the right to live in the territory, immigration director Ambrose Lee said Monday.
"An amnesty, I think, at this stage, is not a proper way to deal with" the right of abode issue, said Lee.
The issue was a legal one and should be settled through the courts, Lee said.
He urged abode seekers and their supporters "to remain calm," to pursue the matter through "peaceful and legal" channels and not to "resort to violence."
He made his comments after church leaders used RTHK (TV station)'s phone-in programme to urge the government to grant the remaining abode seekers an amnesty.
The government has mooted the possibility of deporting abode seekers to the mainland to await the outcome of their cases after a disgruntled group staged a firebomb attack on immigration offices.
Two people died and at least 50 were injured in the August 2 attack at Immigration Tower in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island which came after mainlanders had their requests for identity cards turned down.
Two men, aged 26 and 39, were charged Monday with one count each of murder, arson and wounding with intent, bringing to 21 the total number of people charged in connection with the attack.
The two men were arrested Saturday following the death of senior immigration officer Leung Kam-kwong and abode seeker Lam Siu-sing, both of whom died from injuries sustained during the blaze.
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