I am a New Yorker who visits Hong Kong on business almost monthly. Last week I waited 45 minutes at immigration control in Hong Kong to have my passport stamped. This is outrageous. There were eight immigration booths directly in front of my area with only two of them staffed. Imagine four empty booths with hundreds of visitors waiting. Does Hong Kong have a labour shortage? Don't officials realise that these visitors are vital to the economy and jobs of Hong Kong? The first impression of a country is the one that usually lasts and is remembered. To add insult to injury, a young lady was handing out souvenir lanterns to all visitors. If you want to make visitors happy, let them speed through immigration control: save the lanterns for New Year celebrations. Another thorn in the side of visitors is the Lok Ma Chau border crossing. Coming from China by car used to take 45 minutes on the China side and 45 minutes on the Hong Kong side. China saw the problem and solved it. It now takes three minutes on the China side but it still takes 45 minutes for Hong Kong. Is China so much more advanced than Hong Kong? It is high time to make changes so that visiting Hong Kong is a pleasure instead of time-wasting drudgery. By the way, Hong Kong residents will never know of this because they carry identity cards which take them straight through immigration. JOSH ZEITMAN, Brooklyn, New York
