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Frail Widow's Deport Reprieve
By Michael Harvey, Herald Sun
Australia
February 24, 2005
Cui Yu Hu
A 104-YEAR-OLD woman facing possible deportation may yet win a reprieve from the Howard Government.
Chinese-born Cui Yu Hu has lived in Melbourne for 10 years, but the Immigration Department recently refused her an aged-parent visa.
The decision left the frail widow in a legal limbo where she effectively had no status in Australia.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone intervened yesterday with a promise to review Mrs Hu's file.
"There are many, many cases which obviously require ministerial intervention of a humanitarian nature and I wish sometimes we could tell you all about them," Senator Vanstone said.
"You should be assured that this file will be looked at in that context."
Mrs Hu arrived in Australia with her adopted daughter in 1995 on a one-year visitor's visa.
According to family and friends, no airline would take her home to China when the visa expired because she was too old and delicate.
She has since remained in Melbourne on a bridging visa.
Mrs Hu has no relatives or friends left in China. Her only relatives are her adopted daughter and son-in-law, with whom she lives in Melbourne.
Senator Vanstone suggested that Mrs Hu's family had been trying to speed her case to the Migration Review Tribunal in order to seek ministerial intervention.
The minister's comments gave fresh hope to Mrs Hu last night.
Speaking through an interpreter, she said she would be grateful if allowed to stay in Australia.
"She says she is so thankful to be in Australia and cannot go home because there is no one to return to," family friend Chap Chow said.
Mr Chow said Mrs Hu relied on her adopted daughter for financial support and struggled with medical bills because she could not get a Medicare card.
Earlier, department officials insisted there was no prospect of Mrs Hu being forced to leave Australia.
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