Cautious John Lee optimistic about border reopening

Maisy Mok

Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu yesterday said he's "confident and optimistic" about reopening the border with the mainland after 22 months of shutdown amid the pandemic.

"Even me, such a careful man, is confident and optimistic on the matter [reopening of the border], so it's very clear now," he said.

Lee, who has led the Hong Kong team in holding border reopening talks with his Guangdong counterparts since September, hinted that the border reopening has reached its final stage.

At yesterday's launch of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee said the government has not stopped pushing forward the resumption of normal travel clearance between Hong Kong and the mainland.

He said the SAR, Shenzhen and Zhuhai governments have set up a program for preparing the border to reopen, with the aim to "always be ready" for it.

He described the reopening of the border between Hong Kong and the mainland as having reached the stage of "dashing through the finish line." However, Hong Kong as a whole has to do a good job in anti-epidemic work such as wearing masks and getting vaccinated.

"Through our joint effort in keeping the SAR with zero local infections, my confidence towards reopening the border is very strong. I also hope to announce the good news to everyone as soon as possible," Lee said.

On being asked about government advisor Yuen Kwok-yun's suggestion to launch "vaccine passports" before March next year, Lee said the government is actively studying vaccine passports and does not rule out any possibility.

Meanwhile, a source revealed to The Standard that the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce has informed its members to register for the first phase of resumption of quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Chamber chief executive George Leung Siu-kay told members through an email that the government has requested the chamber to assist them in registering for quarantine exemption between the two regions.

"The government has requested the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and other designated chambers to do the initial registration of members who wish to apply for quarantine-free travel under a special category under the Trade and Industry Department," he said.

Leung also said the government will collect information from eligible applicants in advance to expedite the approval process, while the quarantine exemption between the mainland and Hong Kong is expected to be launched in phases.

People nominated by the chamber for the quarantine-free travel must be owners of a company that is a member of the chamber. Each eligible company can nominate up to two people. Individual members and one of the member's company employees can also be nominated by the chamber.

Members who would like to register would have to submit information such as business registration certificate number and their personal particulars.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong yesterday reported 14 imported Covid cases. Eleven are suspected to involve mutant strains found in Omicron.

In addition, Hong Kong confirmed 12 more Omicron cases, taking the tally to 70 cases involving the fast-spreading variant.

The government said Kazakhstan and Myanmar will be added to the high-risk list from Saturday as Omicron cases from those countries have been found.

Kazakhstan will be added to the A+ category, requiring arrivals to observe a four-day quarantine at Penny's Bay before moving to quarantine hotels for another 17 days, after five imported Omicron cases from the country were recorded in the SAR.