Thanks to mutual efforts, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are able to resume, amid mounting calls for a return to normalcy in daily life, cross-border quarantine-free travel, a move believed to be capable of satisfying multiple expectations from the city’s population in terms of family reunions, cross-border schooling as well as reboots for trade, tourism and a multitude of exchange activities.
It’s no wonder that the number of Hong Kong residents who registered through the online platform to visit the mainland had reached 410,000 by Saturday evening, only one day after the relevant arrangements were announced.
Following three years of near shutdown or limited services under the derailing pandemic-induced restrictions, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has put in place arrangements for 50,000 travelers a day to use the land checkpoints at the Lok Ma Chau railway station, Man Kam To and Shenzhen Bay Port to cross the border, after signing up for a spot online.
Meanwhile, another 10,000 people are expected to access the mainland by using bridge, air and sea entry points. People crossing the border are mandated to provide a negative PCR test result obtained within 48 hours of visiting the mainland. Licensed test operators have indicated that the city can supply 100,000 PCR testing slots per day, and this running capacity is considered sufficient to meet the anticipated demand, especially before the Lunar New Year period.
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Not only that, frontline transport practitioners manning public transport to the land control points, and government staff on duty at the checkpoints involved, are all said to be in high gear for both operating reactivated technical systems in the places concerned and bringing travelers to and from their destinations right before their crossings over the Shenzhen River, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge or the Hong Kong International Airport.
For the over 20,000 cross-border students, measures are being contemplated to allow them back after the upcoming Lunar New Year break. Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki disclosed last Saturday that the HKSAR government was considering means to “facilitate their return” by possibly rolling out “dedicated counters” for cross-border students which could commence earlier immigration services to match general school timetables.
What is needed additionally from the authorities is an early reopening of the corridor between Lo Wu and Shenzhen, where most of the key transport links are stationed radiating to different parts of Guangdong province. This will indeed be the most welcome help to regular commuters from the two sides of the border
He added that the frequency of COVID-19 testing for cross-border pupils would remain an issue to be resolved with mainland officers and special consideration might be given to the replacement of PCR tests with rapid antigen tests.
With cross-border attendance, as well as school teaching and learning having been markedly disrupted by the unfavorable impact of the pandemic-compelled curbs over the past three years, it is a judicious move by the education authorities to speedily take advantage of the mainland’s policy of eased restrictions to restore regular physical classes for the large body of students from across the Shenzhen River. This will go a long way to stabilize the operation of the schools in Hong Kong, which have a significant proportion of pupils from the mainland.
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Responding to the doubts expressed over the sufficiency of the daily quota for visitors to places up north, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said that the visitor quota currently in force could be scrapped if the flow is “smooth” and “under control”, noting that the HKSAR government is “gradually opening” the city’s border with the mainland to enable more people in need to travel to the mainland. In the meantime, Yau also said he hoped that the daily ceiling could be given an uptick very soon in its progressive march toward normality.
During inspection of the functioning of the integral components of the setups for the renewed border traffic, which were confirmed to be in “smooth operation” by the top leadership of the HKSAR government, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu remarked that part of the cross-border quota remained unfilled on the platform, including spots close to the Lunar New Year period.
He suggested that a review of the quota-based traveling plan should be attempted after a few days from its commencement when more feedback has been gathered for a comprehensive review. In this connection, the Xinhua News Agency confirmed on Monday that an evaluation of the use of the given quota would be conducted in a week’s time by central government and HKSAR officials.
Based on the news media’s onsite coverage on Sunday on the flow of Hong Kong visitors to the mainland, it is obvious that local residents are satisfied with the process and procedures they are required to complete in crossing the border, and those interviewed by the media expressed high enthusiasm about the journey. Obviously, there are solid grounds for taking the cross-border travel scheme further forward between the mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs.
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On the speedy process of devising this considerably lax travel plan, reservations have been heard from people harboring pessimistic views about the vaccination rates in both the mainland and the HKSAR. There are unfounded worries about the city’s public health system becoming crippled by a drastic surge in demand for treatment and hospitalization. And then there are concerns over a possible resurgence of problems associated with the influx of parallel traders.
Admittedly, the change to the anti-COVID-19 policy requires careful planning, handling and surveillance. The secretary for security has already emphasized that, among other measures, strong monitoring and law enforcement will be mounted to counter parallel trade.
What is needed additionally from the authorities is an early reopening of the corridor between Lo Wu and Shenzhen, where most of the key transport links are stationed radiating to different parts of Guangdong province. This will indeed be the most welcome help to regular commuters from the two sides of the border.
The scheduled resumption of high-speed train services in mid-January is definitely a big plus in this direction. Meanwhile, the provision of greater care to cross-border students will surely facilitate them to readapt more effectively to the city’s school life after being physically cut off from their teachers and classmates for three years.
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Regardless of the inevitable prospect of facing many a challenge in stepping into a new phase of recovery, it is truly a time for optimism and rejuvenation for the entire HKSAR. If we had chosen not to take the first strides out of the despairing doldrums, there would not be any chance to see the brightening light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s work together to grasp this precious opportunity for renewed prosperity.
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.