From The New York Times:
The plaintive cries of newborns never stop in the special care infant ward at Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital ” a ward designed for 30 babies but that has had as many as 60 at a time in recent weeks.
The crowding is not a result of a baby boom among Hong Kong women, who have the world’s lowest birthrate. Instead, the rows of bassinets are full because of an influx of mainland Chinese women who go to great lengths to make sure that their babies are born in Hong Kong…
Just as many women from Mexico struggle to make sure their babies are born in the United States and are entitled to American citizenship, thousands of women from the mainland come to Hong Kong to give birth because it entitles their babies to permanent residency here. The benefits include a free education and subsidized health care as part of Hong Kong’s British-inspired welfare policies. Hong Kong residents pay as little as $12.80 to give birth at a hospital because of extensive government subsidies. [Full Text]
