F E AT U R E 專 題 故 事
which is provided free-of-charge by the government, they are unable to work or travel. Ho says that if these children are recognised as residents and were able to seek employment, pay taxes, and contribute to wider Hong Kong society, then they would be a source of “clear untapped potential.” Annie Li says it's a missed opportunity, since asylum seekers would fill a need for workers in industries with labour shortages. In addition, the right to work would enable asylum seekers to cover their own expenses, thus alleviating the financial burden faced by taxpayers and empowering individuals to contribute to the community. The government argues that allowing asylum seekers to work would attract an influx of asylum seekers to the region, hence opening “a floodgate for the admission of foreign workers.” However, Li says the government has never released any numbers to support this claim. Ultimately, advocates say that the uncertain legal status asylum seekers face in Hong Kong is in urgent need of reform. “It’s the most demoralising thing for someone to wait 10 years for their case to be accepted,” Ho laments, “only to find out that the situation is exactly the same as it was before and that they can’t move on with their lives.”
李敏解釋道，香港的部分產業 面臨著人手不足的問題，而尋求庇 護者可以填補這些空缺。此外，工 作的權利可以讓尋求庇護者自給自 足，也由此減輕納稅人的負擔，讓 個人可以通過貢獻社會而充權。 政府說，允許尋求庇護者求職 會吸引更多同類人來到這裡，因此 打開「引入外國工人的缺口」。不 過，李敏說香港政府從未公佈過數 據以支持它的這些說法。 倡議者們指出，尋求庇護者在 香港所面對的不確定的法律地位亟 待改革，「最不道德的事，是要一 個 人 為 他 的 聲 請 被 確 立 而 等 待 10 年。」何珮芝批評道，「而最終只 發現狀況一成不變，並無法開展新 生活。」
Learn more 詳情請看 christian-action.org.hk; justicecentre.org.hk
A LONELY DEPARTURE 孤獨的離去 Asylum seekers who pass away in Hong Kong are
在香港去世的尋求庇護者會被視為「無人認領遺體」。
considered “unclaimed bodies.” For Muslims, local
如果是一名穆斯林，本地的清真寺常常會幫忙安排葬
mosques often arrange funeral proceedings. Christian
禮。勵行會也曾多次介入，以確保逝者能得到尊重。
Action has stepped in on a number of occasions to ensure that individuals have a dignified death. But, in cases where Christian Action is uninformed of the person’s passing, the Hong Kong government will arrange to cremate the body and scatter the ashes without a funeral service as a last resort. In that case, families will not be contacted, and the bodies will not be returned to the individual’s country of origin.
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不過，如果勵行會未被知會，香港政府就會火化遺 體，不舉行葬禮便撒掉骨灰。在這種情況下，死者家屬 也不會被通知，遺體也不會被送返其祖國。
