[媒体名称] Fox news [新闻日期] 1/14
[网址]
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/airline-woman-pregnancy-test-flight-saipan
[内文]
Airline asks woman to take pregnancy test before boarding flight to
Saipan, cites island's immigration concerns
A Japanese citizen was reportedly asked to take a pregnancy test
to prove she was not pregnant before boarding a Hong Kong Express
Airways flight to Saipan, a U.S. island part of the Northern
Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
Midori Nishida was reportedly flying from Hong Kong to Saipan to
visit her parents. Once the 25-year-old woman got to the airport
for her flight, she says the airline asked her to take a “
fit-to-fly” assessment, which includes a pregnancy test —
despite the fact that Nishida had already marked that she was not
pregnant on the check-in questionnaire she was given.
Nishida complied and the test was negative, but called the
experience “humiliating and frustrating.”
“In response to concerns raised by authorities in Saipan, we took
actions on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure
U.S. immigration laws were not being undermined.”
— Hong Kong Express Airways
A representative for Hong Kong Express Airways did not immediately
respond to a comment request from Fox News, but apologized for
the incident in a statement to The Wall Street Journal, noting
that the policy was created in response to immigration concerns.
“In response to concerns raised by authorities in Saipan, we took
actions on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure
U.S. immigration laws were not being undermined,” the airline
said. “We would like to apologize unreservedly to anyone who has
been affected by this.”
“We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it.”
The test is part of Hong Kong Express Airways' efforts to quell
birth tourism, which has continued to rise in recent years,
sparking immigration concerns in Saipan. In the past decade, the
U.S. commonwealth has become an increasingly popular destination
for foreign women to give birth as it gives their children
eligibility for U.S. citizenship.
More tourists than residents gave birth on the Northern Mariana
Islands in 2018, the Journal reported. The island is specifically
popular with Chinese citizens as it does not require them to get a
visa. In 2013, Chinese travel agencies started cracking down on
pregnant Chinese women visiting the islands.
Though pregnant women are not banned from entering the U.S.
territory, immigration officials can deny tourists entry if they
appear to be visiting the island with the intent of giving birth.
More than an immigration concern, press secretary for the Saipan
governor’s office, Kevin Bautista, expressed worries over the
practice for the health of the mother and child, who often arrive
late in their pregnancies with no medical records of the care they
have received.
"However, over the course of the last several years, birth tourism
in the CNMI has been a growing concern for both local law
enforcement, federal law enforcement, and local healthcare
providers. Babies born to foreign tourists have increased every
year since 2013," Bautista said in a comment to Fox News.
"This administration, as well as previous administrations, our
Congressional Delegate's office, and our Commonwealth Legislature,
have expressed their concerns with this harmful practice because
it endangers the life of the mother and baby because they come
into the CNMI during the latter months of their pregnancy with no
records of prenatal care."
Though the government does not "control" airline police and called
the incident with Hong Kong Express "very unfortunate."
"When we learned of the incident with Hong Kong Express, it was
very unfortunate, especially since the individual that was tested
is a resident of the CNMI. We do hope that any airline's policy,
regardless of what it is, prioritizes the privacy and safety of
the passenger."
In 2019, Saipan sought legislation to limit birth tourism in the
area. As of Oct. 3, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shortened the visa-free
tourist period from 45 days to 14 days. Tourists are also
recommended to be in possession of a roundtrip ticket when
visiting the island.
Saipan has been struggling to quell the spike in visitor births,
while still keeping the visa-waiver program active for Chinese
travelers, who are deemed necessary to the island’s economy.
Fox News has contacted Hong Kong Express Airways for further
comment.
一名日籍女性在要搭乘香港快运前往塞班前，被地勤要求验孕后才能登机。
他因为这件事感到沮丧且丢脸。
事后香港快运发道歉声明给 WSJ，表示这是为了符合入境审查要求。
目前已暂停验孕，并重新检视这种做法是否合适。
[心得]
WSJ 和不少英文网站跟着报了，所以应该不是假新闻
不过东网居然还没报XD