Immigration hit list forgets local parallel-goods traders
Immigration department says it has no right to regulate entry and exit of permanent residents
The immigration chief has revealed for the first time that the department's list of suspected parallel-goods traders does not feature any Hong Kong people, despite them accounting for the bulk of such activity.
Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok had earlier said 60 per cent of all parallel-goods traders were local residents, while the rest were mainlanders.
But director of Immigration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said all the names identified were visitors to the city, and refused to give the size of the list for security reasons.
"Breach of stay is not applicable to Hong Kong people. So the list is all visitors … The mainland has a law to regulate Hong Kong people engaged in the parallel-goods trading business.
"We have no rights to regulate the entry and exit of permanent residents," he said.
The department arrested nearly 600 mainland parallel-goods traders and 10 local employers between September and January. Only 92 mainlanders were prosecuted. Chan said the low prosecution rate was due to the high standard of proof of employment required in court.
The department rejected the entry of 2,400 suspected traders.