Opinion | Greater transparency needed on detentions at rail joint checkpoint
- Concern has been raised over why the seizure of two travellers by mainland authorities at the West Kowloon facility was revealed by the media and not the Hong Kong government
That the mainland authorities have reportedly detained at least two travellers since the high-speed rail link came into operation in September is not much of a surprise. After all, they have the power to do so within the designated area at the West Kowloon terminus under the joint checkpoint system.
The concern is more about whether such incidents should have been made public by our own government instead of mainland media. Given the sensitivity of the co-location arrangement, greater transparency is called for.
According to mainland news reports, at least two people were taken away over the past few months. The first case involved a Hong Kong permanent resident who allegedly failed to comply with a mainland court order to return 1 million yuan (HK$1.1 million) to a former buyer of his house.
He was said to have been intercepted at the mainland port area of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link terminus in West Kowloon on October 27 and was released after settling the payment that night.
The other case saw a man stopped for defying a civil court order to leave the mainland on December 13. He was said to be returning home, but it is not clear whether he is a Hongkonger.
China officials not required to tell Hong Kong about arrest, says Cheung
The co-location deal gives mainland law enforcers full jurisdiction within the designated port area inside the terminus. Based on the details in the reports, the actions were taken because of non-compliance of civil court orders.