Give all a chance to cross the border

It was supposed to be a piece of good news when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor felt confident enough to raise the expectation that Hong Kong may soon reopen its border with the mainland for quarantine-free travel in both directions.

However, quite to the contrary, many were disappointed as soon as they discovered most families would effectively be shut out of the scheme in the beginning.

Fair enough as it would be too small a daily quota to meet all the need if it turns out to be only 1,000 as reported.

It is also fair that a cautious approach is preferred in light of the fluid pandemic situation.

While a small quota may be needed as the Hong Kong-mainland border reopens for quarantine-free travel for the first time in many months, the number should increase steadily once both sides become confident about the new arrangement.

Before a bigger daily quota is available, the SAR government should set up a mechanism to distribute the limited number fairly to avoid concentrating the spaces to some economic sectors as identified in earlier statements.

The needs of cross-border families should also be addressed and they should be accorded equal priority as those in the business groups identified by the administration.

If the new border scheme is tailor-made mainly for official and business travel, this will create little additional value to a previous certificate scheme under which between 40,000 and 50,000 business people were already exempt from quarantine on their return to Hong Kong.

Given the constraint associated with a small quota, it is vital for the government to be seen to be acting on it fairly.

Lam said government officials started contacting business chambers, professional bodies and listed companies to ask them to give the administration a list of names who should be given the quarantine-free privilege.

But the general public was left out in the cold. There was no mention of how non-business people could apply to share the fruitful outcome of border reopening.

Separation has become perpetual-like for cross-border families and the endless separation is increasingly causing family problems of all kinds.

It is absurd that the husband and wife of a family have to see and shout to greet each other across the Shenzhen River.

It is also heart-breaking that many mainlanders married to Hongkongers have been unable to see their elderly parents in mainland cities for more than two years.

Surely these cases deserve humanity consideration - shouldn't they be given a fair chance to see their family members?

It would be absurd if only those whose parents were dying would be considered on compassionate grounds under the new scheme. This falls seriously short of what is expected.

When the new quarantine-free border arrangement is formally announced, a fair mechanism should be included in the scheme to give not only the business VIPs but also the general public a fair share of the quota.

Such a scheme should never be exclusive - the mechanism should be open to everyone, and not just by invitation.