A People-oriented Government

12.         The number of people aged 65 or above in Hong Kong will surge from 940 000 to 2 560 000 within 30 years. An ageing society will pose challenges to our economic and social development and put new demands on public services and public finance.

13.         Given our limited land resources, the Government must take into account capacity issues when formulating population and other related policies. The Government serves Hong Kong people and our objective is to safeguard their interests first and foremost. We must manage immigration properly to avoid negative impacts on our livelihood; accord priority to developing the potentials of Hong Kong people; and provide more opportunities for young people, women and the elderly to join the workforce to enhance our productivity. Our objective is to make the best use of our local talent pool and, when necessary, take in immigrants to make up any shortfall. For new arrivals who settle in Hong Kong, regardless of their ethnicity, Hong Kong is their home. We must help them integrate into our community.

14.         Babies born to non-local parents will add pressure to our medical, education and other services. The policy of no delivery bookings of pregnant Mainland women whose husbands are not Hong Kong residents has borne fruit. Cases of non-local women in labour gate-crashing hospital emergency wards have come under control. Last month there were just 19 such cases. I have decided to maintain the "zero delivery quota" policy for expectant Mainland mothers whose husbands are not Hong Kong residents. At the same time, the Government will seek to tackle the root of the problem by legal means.

Contents | Next