Mainland residents wishing either to visit their parents or reunite with family members in Hong Kong may get a helping hand from the Ministry of Public Security.

Ma Lik, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), revealed this yesterday in Beijing after meeting with mainland officials.

He met with Cui Zhikun, director of the Exit-Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, and other public security officials.

Ma said he had asked for the mainland authorities to give special treatment for those residents who apply to come to Hong Kong to look after their elderly parents.

The mainland authorities said they would go even further than Ma's suggestion and consider issuing multi-entry permits to any mainland residents wishing to enter Hong Kong either to visit families or to seek family reunion, DAB stated in a press release.

The Ministry of Public Security will not restrict mainland residents from visiting their families in Hong Kong so long as they go through the normal and legal application process, it said.

As for the right-of-abode seekers who have overstayed in Hong Kong, Ma said that mainland authorities had agreed that so long as they return to the mainland in line with law, they will not be discriminated against if they apply to come to Hong Kong again.

Those who had been repatriated to the mainland after staying illegally in Hong Kong will also be allowed to re-enter the territory to seek reunions with their families.

The DAB statement also noted that the mainland authorities would consider mapping out an overall policy to solve the problem of family reunions. But the policy must be made based on the principles of compliance with the mainland legal requirement and humanitarian grounds.

The Ministry of Public Security also welcomed Hong Kong citizens to give suggestions or make complaints on enhancing service quality, particularly in cross-border services in Huanggang and Lowu checkpoints.

Ma made the visit after the Immigration Department arrested 13 right-of-abode claimants for overstaying in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The claimants were repatriated to the mainland the same day. The department said some 3,400 claimants with no right to remain in the city had been repatriated to the mainland since 2002.

(HK Edition 06/19/2004 page2)