Tourism boss James Tien in warning over Shenzhen entry permit influx
Tourism boss calls for relaxation of rules for millions of Shenzhen residents to be delayed, saying it will lead to a rise in illegal workers
Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun says a change of rules which would give 4.1 million non-permanent citizens of Shenzhen easier access to Hong Kong should be postponed.
He warned many of the new visitors could take jobs illegally or become cross-border traders.
His appeal surprised fellow members of the tourism body, one of whom linked the remarks to Tien's electoral ambitions.
He is running to regain the New Territories East seat he lost in 2008 in next month's Legislative Council election.
Tien said in a radio interview that many of the 2.8 million Shenzhen permanent residents who are already allowed to apply for multi-entry permits for Hong Kong worked as parallel traders, buying goods in the city and selling them on the mainland.
"They are not tourists. They are illegal workers," he said. Tien said the announcement last week that multiple-entry permits would be opened up to those who do not hold hukou, or residency certificates, in the border boomtown - many of them poor migrant workers - would lead to an influx of visitors who are not "conventional tourists".
The new visitors would have less purchasing power and would be stocking up on goods like baby formula instead of visiting the city's theme parks, he said.