Despite its literal meaning, the term is rarely used to describe newly arrived immigrants from regions other than Mainland China.
This ruling immediately granted up to 300,000 people in mainland China the right of abode in Hong Kong, and it was estimated that within the next ten years, about 1.6 million people in mainland China would become eligible for right of abode in Hong Kong.
Soon after the Mainland government opened its door for economic development and after the signing of Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, there was a massive relocation of industrial activities from Hong Kong to the Pearl River Delta.
Such industrial relocation has accentuated the trend of marriage between Hong Kong working-class men and Mainland women (So, 2002).
Thousands of women from the mainland come to Hong Kong to give birth because it entitles their babies to permanent residency there.
The benefits include a free education and subsidised health care as part of Hong Kong's British-inspired welfare policies.
Under the new release rules, immigration officers will be instructed to turn back any mainlander who appears to be at least seven months pregnant and has not paid.
[3] Fan also refers to immigrants from mainland China and the quota of 150 daily permits as "the root of the housing problem".
[7] Many political parties in Hong Kong were opposed to large Chinese immigration due to cultural reasons and a lack of resources, especially in primary schools, public housing and certain jobs.