Two strikes and you're out for Shenzhen smugglers
Shenzhen officials plan to deny multiple-entry permissions to those convicted of smuggling
In what could be a heavy blow to cross-border traders between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Guangdong authorites are planning to deny travel permits to Shenzhen residents found to have been involved in smuggling.
The new rules would include "restrictions" on multiple-entry Hong Kong travel permits to Shenzhen residents who have been fined twice for smuggling, the newspaper said. Residents who have previously been convicted of offences related to smuggling and those who resist checks at customs checkpoints can also be denied permits, the report said.
The special travel permit, launched in 2009, grants Shenzhen residents an unlimited number of visits to Hong Kong for a year.
Up to 95 per cent of those who cross the border multiple times per day are smugglers, the Guangdong paper said, citing local customs figures. Earlier this year, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok told the Post that 60 per cent of all parallel-goods traders were local residents, while the rest were mainlanders.
Hong Kong border residents have complained about increased congestion and rising prices, as smugglers transit through their communities to sell goods bought tax-free in the city on Shenzhen’s black market.
Last year, Hong Kong registered some 48.6 million tourist arrivals, which was 16 per cent more than in 2011, according to the city’s Tourism Commission. Of the 34.9 million mainland tourists, 19.8 million were same-day visitors.