Hong Kong to extend mainland border checkpoint hours over Lunar New Year after New Year Eve’s chaos
Hong Kong Free Press
The Shenzhen Bay checkpoint will be open for 24 hours for five consecutive days during the Lunar New Year holiday to facilitate mainland Chinese tourists.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, the city’s leader John Lee said the Shenzhen Bay port will be open throughout the day for travellers and vehicles from February 9 to 13, or the eve of the Lunar New Year to the fourth day of the lunar calendar.
The Lo Wu checkpoint’s opening hours will be extended to 2am during the same period. MTR will accordingly extend the operations of the East Rail Line linked to Lo Wu checkpoint.
“We reached the consensus [of extending the checkpoints’ operating hours] with the Shenzhen authorities in a short period of time, and the process went smoothly… It’s an example of the collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong,” Lee said in Cantonese.
“We have the same aim, to attach great importance to citizens’ and tourists’ feelings and experience,” he said, adding that he was grateful for the support of mainland Chinese government departments.
The announcement came after large groups of mainland Chinese tourists were left stranded in Hong Kong’s MTR stations and border checkpoints after the countdown fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Over 220,000 tourists visited Hong Kong from mainland China during the New Year Eve holiday, with many returning to Shenzhen after the countdown.
Currently, only Huanggang Port and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge are open 24 hours.
Photos showed tourists sitting outside the Huanggang Port waiting for shuttle buses to take them across the border. At Sheung Shui MTR station, which is one stop from Lo Wu, tourists were seen sleeping as they waited for the first train.
Hong Kong authorities said they would review transport and border-crossing arrangements in response to the chaos.
Multiple-entry visas
Hong Kong’s pro-establishment lawmakers have also been urging the government to reintroduce multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents to boost tourism.
Last December, Ming Pao reported citing sources that the government was studying the feasibility of offering the multiple-entry visas again.
In 2014, following complaints from residents in the North District over parallel traders travelling from Shenzhen, the Hong Kong government proposed to Beijing replacing the multiple-entry visa scheme with a once-a-week permit. The permit came into effect in 2015.
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