Living in Hong Kong a struggle for mainland Chinese divorcees, widows who lack permit to be with children
- Children are Hong Kong residents, but single parents from mainland don’t qualify for one-way permits
- Authorities urged to help 3,000 to 5,000 families who have fallen between the cracks to improve lives
On many nights, Zhang Xionglian cries silently under her quilt so her teenage daughter sleeping beside her will not notice.
The 49-year-old from mainland China has been on her own in Hong Kong and taking care of her child, 13, since her Hongkonger husband had an asthma attack and died in 2008, just days after the girl was born.
She has been stuck in limbo ever since. While her daughter is a Hong Kong resident, Zhang has been unable to get a permit to settle in the city permanently or get a job.
Instead, she stays on a visitor visa, which she must renew by going to the mainland every three months.
With border controls in place during the coronavirus pandemic, the Hong Kong Immigration Department allowed her to extend her stay.
Mother and daughter survive on the girl’s Comprehensive Social Security Assistance welfare allowance of about HK$5,000 (US$643) a month. Half of that goes towards their rent for a 100 sq ft room in a two-bedroom flat in Sham Shui Po.
