5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week

Security minister Chris Tang on Tuesday said that some 5.5 million visitor arrivals and departures were recorded at land crossings during the mainland's recent Golden Week holiday. He told lawmakers at a security panel meeting that operations were smooth, with extra staff at the checkpoints. Tang also said that up until September this year, the daily average number of inbound travellers at land checkpoints was around 660,000, surpassing the corresponding figure in 2018. He said officials will continue discussions with Shenzhen counterparts on extending the opening hours of certain ports. The minister also said that officials in the SAR and Shenzhen are trying to complete the redevelopment of the Huanggang Port facility by the end of next year, adding that it will be able to handle around 200,000 people a day. The port, as well as the Sha Tau Kok checkpoint, will adopt "collaborative inspection and joint clearance", where e-channels and counters of both jurisdictions will be set up side by side, with travellers only having to have their documents checked once. Such an arrangement has been in place on the border between Macau and Zhuhai since 2018. The DAB's Elizabeth Quat asked whether the government plans to expand joint border clearance to more ports for greater efficiency. "It's easier to adopt such arrangements at newly built or redeveloped checkpoints, because they are newly designed. At older ports, say in Lo Wu, the design is not for such border clearance arrangements. There are more space constraints," Tang said in response. But he said officials have been looking at adopting the clearance method at bigger border points such as the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai port. Meanwhile, unionist lawmaker Bill Tang proposed allowing Shenzhen vehicles to come to Hong Kong on Sundays, saying such drivers should be middle class and that their spending would boost the local economy. Tang said in response that officials have plans to allow mainland passengers using the airport to park their vehicles there. But he said further study would be needed as to whether more cars can be allowed into the SAR.

5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week

5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week

5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week

5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week

5.5mn land border crossings during Golden Week