Hong Kong’s largest pro-establishment party has suggested adding more 24-hour checkpoints with mainland China and allowing junior-level civil servants to intern across the border.
Members of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) discussed their proposals for Beijing’s Two Sessions at a press conference on Monday. The parliamentary meetings of Beijing’s top political elites are scheduled for early March, and the DAB members who are also deputies to mainland China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, are expected to attend.
Iris Wong, a social worker, said the party had conducted research at Hong Kong’s checkpoints with mainland China, and found that there was significant demand for operating hours to be extended. She recommended the border crossings at Shenzhen Bay, Lok Ma Chau and Liantang – covering the eastern, central and western parts of Shenzhen – opened 24 hours to meet demand. Currently, only Huanggang Port is open around the clock.
“The number of people who go through the Liantang checkpoint far exceeds the 30,000 it was designed for,” Wong said in Cantonese, referring to the new land border crossing that fully opened last year when quarantine-free travel resumed. “At its peak, there are 80,000 [people passing through].”
In the meantime, Wong suggested extending the hours of the Liantang and Lok Ma Chau ports until midnight. On weekends and public holidays, the Lok Ma Chau crossing should be open until 2 am, she added.
Wong also suggested that central authorities create virtual Home Return Permits, the identification document that allows Hongkongers to visit mainland China, to make travel more efficient.
Members of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body, will meet in Beijing in the first week of March for the annual gathering.
Rock Chen, a lawmaker and also a Hong Kong delegate to the NPC, said mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities should consider setting up a mechanism that would allow mainland Chinese investors to invest in stocks listed in the Hong Kong market and vice versa.
Patriotic education
Promoting patriotic education among Hong Kong youth was also a DAB priority, members said at the press conference.
Brave Chen, a lawmaker and the vice-chairperson of the DAB, suggested that the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong garrison hold more open day events. The garrison typically hosts such events on special dates, including the anniversary of the city’s return to China.
The garrison could give talks about military history to primary and secondary students, he added.
Chen also said authorities could expand a civil servants exchange programme that allows government employees to work in mainland China to include new and entry-level civil servants.
“They can be interns in the country’s civil service, deepening their understanding of the national sentiment… and Chairman Xi [Jinping]’s governing ideals,” Chen said.
Starry Lee, the chairperson of the DAB, said the party would hold another press conference nearer to the Two Sessions to discuss more of its proposals.
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