Govt mulls opening Chung Ying Street to tourists, the last closed area in Sha Tau Kok

The government is mulling opening Chung Ying Street—the only remaining closed area within Sha Tau Kok since its second-phase opening—for tourism, according to Under Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip.

Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting, Cheuk noted that around 230,000 visitors have entered the area with a Closed Area Permit (CAP) since the second phase began in January last year.

He believed that the initiative has been operating smoothly with positive feedback from various sectors of society, while revealing the possibility of increasing the permit quota, which is currently set at 2,300 individual visitors and 700 for group visitors on weekends and public holidays.

However, Cheuk dismissed the proposal to allow same-day CAP applications, citing the operational challenges faced by the Frontier Closed Area in processing them, despite the daily quota being sufficient.

He also noted that the government is in discussions with Shenzhen authorities regarding the opening of Chung Ying Street, due to its unique location where there is no obvious border with the mainland.

He further emphasized that the usage of "contactless channels", which were introduced at the Chung Ying Street checkpoint last December, has increased from 46 percent earlier this year to 64 percent.

The authorities will continue to encourage residents to register and use the technology to facilitate the flow of people and enhance the checkpoint's processing capacity, he added.