ENG-1990 — Page 436

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

They are the City Hall Marriage Registry, Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry, Sha Tin Marriage Registry and Tsim Sha Tsui Marriage Registry. During the year 44 640 marriages were performed in the registries and 2 548 at licensed places of worship. All records are maintained permanently in the General Register Office.

The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on or after October 7, 1971, shall imply the voluntary union, for life, of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. It declares valid certain customary marriages and other marriages known as modern marriages provided, in each case, they were entered into before October 7, 1971. The ordinance makes provision for the post-registration of these marriages, and for their dissolution. During the year, 78 customary and 136 modern marriages were post-registered.

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Special arrangements are made to enable Vietnamese boat people in detention centres to register their marriages in Hong Kong. In 1990, 425 marriages were contracted under these arrangements.

The Registrar of Marriages is also responsible for the issue of Certificates of Absence of Marriage Records to local residents. The number of these certificates issued during the year was 28 449, an increase of 34 per cent compared with 21 299 in 1989.

Births and Deaths

The registration of births and deaths is compulsory. The General Register Office keeps all records of births and deaths.

During the year, 69 748 live births and 29 201 deaths were registered, compared with 72 156 and 28 485 respectively in 1989. The figures, when adjusted for under-registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1990 of about 39 200.

A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths and on payment of a fee of $70. During the year, 573 births were post-registered in this manner.

Birth registration services in the urban districts are provided by two main registries, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. There are also six birth registries in the rural areas providing similar services in their respective districts. In the outlying areas and islands, births are normally registered at various rural committee offices by visiting district registrars. Visiting services are also provided to register the birth of babies born locally to Vietnamese boat people in detention centres. During the year, 2 101 babies were born in these centres.

There are two death registries, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. Deaths in the rural areas are registered at local police stations except in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung where deaths are registered in a death registry. Apart from registration of deaths, the death registries issued 1 300 removal permits in 1990 for the purpose of removing bodies for burial outside Hong Kong.

Establishment and Recruitment

At year end, the department had an establishment of 3 533 disciplined staff, 13 less than in 1989. The number of civilian staff was 2 392. During the year, 182 immigration assistants were recruited.

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