Better cross-border guidelines before major events promised

There will be better cross-border arrangements on major holidays and large-scale events, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki has promised tourism and transport representatives.

This came after hundreds of mainland tourists were stranded in Hong Kong following the New Year countdown, with some staying at Sheung Shui MTR station and others waiting for up to six hours for cross-border buses.

Chan said government officials will host meetings ahead of major events and discuss arrangements.

"The meeting will be hosted by myself and aims to enhance coordination among relevant departments and sectors to make preparations in advance," he said.

Local authorities will also discuss with mainland counterparts the issue of extending the opening hours of Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau ports to increase the number of border checkpoints that operate 24 hours a day, Chan said.

The government will also improve local traffic and facilitate cross-border buses.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the city is attractive to tourists and is set to receive a large number of visitors during next month's Lunar New Year holiday.

"The Chinese New Year may be different because there will be a longer holiday in the mainland and they may likely be spending more time here," Yeung said.

"We have learned from experience, so we will do all we can to make sure that tourists, upon returning after major events, will have more satisfactory arrangements," he said.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said some 26,000 visitors returned via the Lok Ma Chau control point to Huanggang port from midnight to 6am on New Year's Day - five times the number during weekends last month, and 90 percent of 1,570 vehicles passing the port were private cars.

He said a traffic jam at the Lok Ma Chau control point was inevitable with a huge number of cars within a short period and the government will discuss with the mainland to extend the opening hours of the port in the future.

Secretary of the Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association Freeman Cheung Kim-ping, who attended the meeting with Chan, suggested the Shenzhen Bay border checkpoint can run 24 hours a day as the port has ample parking.

Cheung said it had increased the frequency of the cross-border buses for the countdown to every 10 minutes but they were stuck in traffic as too many private cars went to Huanggang port.

He said the government was considering a designated lane for cross-border buses.

Lawmaker Edward Lau Kwok-fan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong welcomed the new measures, urging it to speed up talks with the mainland and open more round-the-clock borders.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com