Shenzhen looks to stop abuse of multi-entry permit
Authorities promise to study ways of limiting number of trips made daily by mainlanders into the city under the multiple-entry scheme
Shenzhen authorities will look at ways to limit mainlanders' trips to Hong Kong under the multiple-entry permit scheme amid allegations that it is being abused by parallel-goods traders.
But Gary Chan Hak-kan also said that the officials told him most of those who made multiple trips between the two cities in recent weeks were Hongkongers - including one who crossed the border 26 times in a day.
Chan was speaking after his visit to the border area with fellow members of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and meeting Shenzhen customs chief Li Shuyu.
The lawmaker said Li had told him that the Shenzhen customs authorities, using a new system of random checks, estimated that 20,000 people - 60 per cent from Hong Kong - were engaged in the parallel-goods trade, buying goods in Hong Kong for sale in Shenzhen shops.
The Shenzhen government promised to study ways to prevent abuses of the multiple-entry scheme, he said.
Chan suggested that the number of trips made between the two cities could be limited to four a day, although Hong Kong officials have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of curbing such travel.