Immigration Department records a three-fold rise in abuse of business visas
The number of mainlanders travelling to Hong Kong on the pretext of doing business who were refused entry for security reasons more than quadrupled last year after an immigration crackdown.
The Immigration Department increased checks on mainlanders with a business visa - officially known as a 'business endorsement' - after it was found that the document was commonly abused by illegal workers or prostitutes arrested in Hong Kong.
The latest figures revealed that 27,655 visitors were refused permission to enter Hong Kong last year, 30 per cent more than 2002.
They were refused entry on the grounds of possessing forged travel documents, having improper documentation or because immigration officers doubted the purpose of their visit.
Of those, two-thirds, or 18,621, were from the mainland.
Of that number, 54 per cent, or 10,139 were travelling with a business endorsement - almost 41/2 times more than the 2,305 mainlanders who travelled to Hong Kong with the document but were refused entry in 2002.
