HK's expelled migrants appeal to UN

Protests have been a feature of the court case involving about 5,000 abode seekers

HONG KONG, China -- Thousands of mainland Chinese migrants say they will petition the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, after losing their court battle to remain in Hong Kong.

The emotional and defeated claimants told local media they will ask the United Nations (UN) leader to press the Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, to grant them abode status, saying that they had been unfairly deprived of their legal rights.

With their expectations crushed, Hong Kong's top court ruled Thursday that all but 200 of the more than 5,000 mainland Chinese migrants suing for the right to stay in the territory must leave by the end of March.

As lawyers for the devastated thousands said that all legal channels in Hong Kong had been exhausted, fears mounted that abode seekers may go underground to remain in the territory.

FEATURE Great Expectations meet with a twist    PHOTO GALLERY The tense wait outside the Court of Final Appeal    AUDIO CNN's Mike Chinoy on the latest ruling on mainland Chinese migrants. 1.95 MB / 3min 06sec. WAV sound   MORE STORIES • HK rules out schooling for migrants (Dec. 2001) • Hong Kong's top court reverses Chinese immigrant-abode ruling (Dec. 1999)    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

The verdict from the Court of Final Appeal was largely a victory for Hong Kong's government and Beijing, who have sought for years to control and restrict the numbers of mainland Chinese settling in the territory.

The Court of Final Appeal said the right to stay applied only to migrants who arrived in Hong Kong before January 29, 1999, the date of a residency ruling later reversed by Beijing.

However, the court in its judgment found that their was an injustice in this case, in that the mainland migrants had a "legitimate expectation" that they might be allowed to stay in Hong Kong after the 29 January 1999 ruling.

Migrants are now analyzing the complex 159-page ruling after the Director of Immigration announced that permits would be issued to cover the migrants remaining time in Hong Kong.

The migrants have a grace period in which to return to mainland China, using the new permit to avoid penalties from both the mainland and Hong Kong authorities, however security forces are preparing for overstayers.

Media sources put the cost of legal proceedings of the case at $3.5 million (HK$27 million) to Hong Kong taxpayers.

Related violence led to the death of an immigration officer in a fire at immigration offices in 2000.

A lawyer for the migrants, Rob Brooke, said the ruling would enable 200 of the 5,114 people involved in the joint appeal to remain in Hong Kong. Another 300 people who were not involved in the case would also benefit, he said.

But for 4,800 other mainland migrants, the decision would likely mean repatriation to China -- a move many have said they will resist by all means possible.

Two killed

Since Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule four years ago, immigration from mainland China has been one of the trickiest issues confronting the territory, prompting numerous protests and massive legal battles.

Ahead of Thursday's decision, police stepped up security near the Immigration Tower and other government facilities to pre-empt any violent backlash.

In August 2000, a group of mainland Chinese migrants set a fire in immigration headquarters that injured 50 people and killed two -- one a migrant and the other an immigration official.

About 150 police stood guard outside the courthouse Thursday. Officers said another 500 to 600 officers were on standby in case of trouble.