In fact, the Hong Kong government had long ago feared that this provision in the Basic Law would spark a wave of illegal immigration around the time of the handover in July of 1997. But it still respected British legal tradition and the written law. However, the HKSAR does not respect the law and makes decisions arbitrarily, destroying Hong Kong's tradition of rule of law. This will have far-reaching consequences.
其實香港政府幾年前，便已注意到基本法這一條文會令港人子女在九七年七月一日前後引發偷渡潮，但仍依據英國法律傳統，遵守白紙黑字為有效，而香港特區政府都可不顧法律，或對其斷章取義，在文字上做手腳，惡劣地破壞香港的法治傳統，影響深遠。