I am completely absolutely annoyingly distinctly gutted by the whole "Right of Abode for Domestic Helpers" sage (see Spike's posts here and here).

People seem to have forgotten that Hong Kong has always been a city for refugees/immigrants.  Many people's parents and grandparents were refugees from the Japanese invasion of China, war between the so-called Nationalists and so-called Communists, genocide in Burma, civil unrest in India and Pakistan, and the war in Vietnam.  If we could deal with the waves of refugees in the 30's, 40's and 50's, which doubled the population every few years when a large number of us were living in poverty, why the hell should we feel alarmed by a few more immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia?  If the Basic Law says that "Persons not of Chinese nationality who have entered Hong Kong with valid travel documents, have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence" are permanent residents of the HKSAR, then, those who have satisfied the requirements are us.  The Hong Kong miracle is mostly attributed to British administration and the hardworking immigrants, who are undeniably more able and ready to adapt to changing environments.  If we are to lose our tolerance and readiness to accept new immigrants, we are doomed.

By the way, I do not for a second believe the government's propaganda that some 250,000 people will become permanent residents overnight.  How many of the domestic helpers working here can satisfy the requirement that they have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence?  You tell me.