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SCMP Reporter

AFTER 1997 there will continue to be strict border controls between Hong Kong and China. People from the mainland will still have to apply to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for permission to visit and there will not be a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants coming to the territory.

  While Hong Kong people do not want to see any relaxation of the controls on people crossing the border from the north, they expect to be able to travel to other parts of China with greater ease after the handover.

  The Chinese Government has been contemplating the possibility of further simplifying entry procedures for Hong Kong travellers for some time.

  Not all Hong Kong residents can enter the mainland without a visa. Those who are entitled to do so travel in China on a document called the Hometown Visit Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Compatriots.

  Last week there were reports that a public security official in the Guangdong provincial government had said the permit would no longer be necessary after Hong Kong's return to China in 1997.

  The reports were quickly denied by the immigration control section of the Guangdong Public Security Bureau.

  A spokesman pointed out that since the Hometown Visit Permit was introduced over a decade ago, many improvements had been made, especially at important entry points such as Lowu, where computerisation has made it possible for permit holders to pass through in a matter of seconds.

  The Hometown Visit Permit is easy to apply for and simple to use, said the spokesman, and there were no plans as yet to change or abolish the system.

  It is true that travelling on the permit is already so easy one can hardly think of any way to improve it.

  The document is valid for 10 years and within that period travellers can visit China as many times as they want. The only limit is the number of pages in the permit.

  There may be a problem, though, for those holding a foreign passport. The Hometown Visit Permit should in theory only be issued to residents in Hong Kong (and Macau) who are Chinese 'compatriots'. That is, those who are regarded by the Chinese Government as Chinese nationals.

  The China Travel Service, which processes the issuing of permits, will not accept applications from foreign passport holders. However, if someone is already in possession of the permit when they acquire a foreign nationality, they are allowed to renew it when the document expires.

  This means some Hong Kong residents with foreign passports can travel without visas to China, while others cannot.

  If China insists on not allowing visa-free entry to foreign nationals, then, when the Chinese Nationality Law applies in Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty, foreign passport holders will not be able to keep their Hometown Visit Permit.

  It is more important to foreign passport holders that the Chinese Government clarifies its position on this matter, rather than looking at ways of taking even better care of those possessing the Hometown Visit Permit.

  There are many Hong Kong residents who are not Chinese nationals, but who have to frequently travel on business to other parts of China.

  It would be very inconvenient for them if they had to apply for a visa every time they took a trip to the mainland.

  IT would be a great help if the Chinese Government would allow all Hong Kong permanent residents to travel to the mainland without a visa.

  This entails a change in China's policy, but Hong Kong deserves special treatment due to its special relationship with the rest of the mainland.

  This relaxation in the rules would hardly do China any harm. If the change was implemented, then the Hometown Visit Permit could be abolished and Hong Kong permanent residents would be able to travel to China carrying simply their Hong Kong identity card.

  People in other parts of China may think it unfair that they cannot come to Hong Kong at will, whereas Hong Kong residents can travel freely in their territory.

  They should realise, though, that everywhere in the world visa-free travel is invariably granted for economic reasons, never on the principle of reciprocity.



Visa-free provisions needed for business