The Central Policy Unit has opened a debate that raises the possibility of admitting domestic helpers from the mainland. At present some 260,000 foreign domestic workers are employed in Hong Kong. They are predominantly from the Philippines and Indonesia. The conspicuous absence of maids from the mainland reflects a stringent effort to avert a possible flood of migrants disguising themselves as domestic helpers. There is also a higher chance, compared to maids hired from non-Chinese sources, of their deciding to get married to a Hong Kong permanent resident and then to stay in Hong Kong for good.

That concern remains valid today. A recent City Forum hosted by RTHK had panelists expressing worry about family problems ensuing from maids hired from the mainland. Wives are worried that mainland domestic helpers might become mistresses to their husbands. Hong Kong domestic helpers worry about competition. Other people worry that for an unmarried woman to be attracted to and to attract an unmarried male is human and natural, but would lead to many more marriages and more potential immigrants to Hong Kong.

Various safeguards have already been proposed, and they are all very sensible. For example, one proposal was that helpers from the mainland should be not less than 45, and they should be required to go through an authorized agent to avoid employers using the pretext of hiring a domestic helper to bring people related to them to Hong Kong. It was also proposed they should not be permitted to work for more than six years.

To alleviate the worry of those who object to the proposal, some additional safeguards may be considered. We may require that helpers from the mainland already be married; that they be trained at designated schools for domestic helpers. Graduates from these schools would then be randomly picked, subject to satisfying any pre-specified criteria, into lists from which their prospective employers would choose. This way, the possibility of someone's trying to hire a person related to him, as well as the possibility of inducing marriages between a Hong Kong resident and a mainlander, would be minimized.

Some may object that these safeguards would be clumsy and costly. But the costs of dealing with the problem when a problem arises would be even greater. There are those who object to introducing domestic helpers from the mainland altogether. That would rule out any potential problem but at the same time would disallow any flexibility that might be justified under some circumstances. It was reported that former governor Chris Patten had once allowed a mainlander to come to Hong Kong to assist a frail elderly woman from Shandong who spoke a Shandong dialect. There is little doubt that the flexibility would materially benefit many families who have trouble employing a domestic helper from the Philippines or Indonesia, and who are now under tremendous stress having to make a living and caring for a frail person at home at the same time. Given the shortage of home care spaces for the elderly, the proposed flexibility should be considered a humanitarian move. Its success is not to be judged by its popularity but by the extent of relief it can provide to those who need it.

The author is director of Centre for Public Policy Studies, Lingnan University

(HK Edition 10/10/2009 page1)