The number of boys born in Hong Kong is soaring
compared with girls, spurred by an influx of mainland mothers who prefer
sons. Many use sex-selection services that are illegal across the
border.
Figures from the Census and Statistics Department show that the ratio
rose from 109.8 boys for every 100 girls born in 2005, to 111.4 in
2006, 112 in 2007 and 113.6 in 2008.
At this rate it may soon approach the 120 to 130 found in some provinces on the mainland.
The trend is backed up by the first comprehensive study of its kind
in Hong Kong. The researchers noted that many mothers came to Hong Kong
specifically to learn the sex of their babies. Some would cancel their
birth bookings on finding that they were expecting girls.
Since a landmark Court of Final Appeal ruling in 2001 gave permanent
resident status to children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents, the
city has become a “birth hub”.
These Hong Kong-born children may not be raised in the city during
their early childhood, but they can come here at any time to enjoy their
full rights to education and social services. In 2008, mainland mothers
accounted for 42.6 per cent of all births in Hong Kong.
The overall male-to-female ratio in Hong Kong was only 1106.4 to 100
in the 1980s and 1990s, on a par with the international average of 105
to 107.
The study by three obstetricians and gynaecologists at hospitals in
Kowloon West – Grace Wong Ying, Leung Wing-cheong and Robert chin
kien-howe – was published recently in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine.
The team retrieved data on all the 194,602 babies born in public
hospitals between 2003 and 2007. Of these, 140,962 (72.4 per cent) were
born to Hong Kong Chinese and 52,741 (27.1 per cent) to mainland
mothers. The overall sex ratio at birth during that five-year period was
108.8 to 100. But the ratio is lower for Hong Kong mothers, at 107.8,
than for mainland mothers, 111.6.
Wong, the study’s chief author, said the rapid rise in the ratio was a
result of and influx of mainlanders who practiced sex selection more
than locals.
The researchers said as most mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong
came from southern China, biological or environmental reasons alone
probably could not explain such a “skewed” sex ratio.
“The most plausible explanation for this is the practice of sex
selection. However, these findings do not provide direct evidence that
such a high sex ratio is a result of selective abortion of females in
women of higher birth order,” the report said.
“It is also possible that patients from mainland China tend to spend
more resources on their sons, and are more willing to give birth in Hong
Kong if their pregnancy is of a male baby.”
Wong, who formerly worked at the public Princess Margaret Hospital
and switched to private practice a year ago, said almost 90 per cent of
her patients were from the mainland.
“We have come across several cases in which the mainland mothers have
defaulted or cancelled their booking for a delivery in Hong Kong after
learning that they are carrying a girl. Some even disappeared without
paying the medical fee after an ultrasound scan,' Wong said.
The team also analysed the sex ratio of each birth order. They found
that while mainland women did not have a clear preference for a son in
their first pregnancy, they may have practised some form of sex
selection from their second pregnancy.
For Hong Kong women, the sex ratios were 106 to 100 for the first baby,
107.3 for the second and 118.4 for the third child or above. The ratio
increases much more steeply among mainland women - from 104.7 for a
first baby, 114.9 for the second and 174.5 for the third child or above.
The researchers warned that the 'abnormally skewed' sex ratio may have
disastrous social consequences.
'High sex ratios at birth have deprived female fetuses of their birth
rights. Mothers also suffer from tremendous psychological pressure and
reproductive health risks while undergoing abortion.
'Discrimination against women is detrimental for both men and women,
hindering the overall economic development. The phenomenon of missing
girls will lead to a shortage of marriageable females,' the team said.
There are now more women than men among the Hong Kong population aged 20
to 35. But University of Hong Kong demographer Dr Paul Yip Siu-fai said
the changing sex ratio at birth would only have a limited effect on the
overall sex ratio.
'This is because many Hong Kong men will marry mainland women and bring
them to Hong Kong, and women's life expectancy is longer.'
He called on the government to monitor demographic trends and prepare
for an influx of Hong Kong-born children from the mainland.
Children born in Hong Kong enjoy full residency status
In 2008, mainland mothers accounted for the following proportion of births in the city: 42.6%
Reference information: SCMP
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