Business visas need to stay, says security chief
Ambrose Lee contradicts police chief on travel documents
Business visas for mainlanders should be maintained to facilitate cross-border trade, the security chief said yesterday, indicating an apparent shift in the government's position.
Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said mainland authorities had no plans to abolish the 'business endorsement scheme', after meeting Guangdong Public Security Bureau chief Liang Guoju in Guangzhou.
'If there were serious loopholes, of course it would have to be abolished. But the situation has improved since the approval procedure was tightened [in March],' Mr Lee said.
Mr Lee said business visas had certain benefits.
'Abolishing business visas would deal a blow to the economic and trade ties between the two sides,' he said.
His comments contrast with remarks by Police Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai last week. Dick Lee said two-way permits for mainlanders - including mainland business visas or relative-visiting visas - would be phased out and replaced by individual travel permits.
He said the Hong Kong police were working closely with the Guangdong Public Security Bureau on the issue, but he did not give a timeframe for the abolition.
From March to November this year, 660 holders of one category of business visas were found to have worked illegally in Hong Kong, a 68 per cent drop over the 2,039 recorded during the same period last year, Mr Lee said.
During the same period, 1,625 prostitutes with business visas were arrested, a 47 per cent drop over the 3,077 recorded last year.
Meanwhile, with the proposed introduction of biometric passports, or e-passports, in early 2007, Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok said yesterday the government would apply to the Legislative Council's Finance Committee early next year for funding to develop the schemes.
Tender documents would then be issued, he said, adding the department had submitted a feasibility report to the Security Bureau on planning for bio-metric passport projects.
