Opinion | Why China’s health ‘black code’ for border control is a relic and must end as soon as possible
- The health declaration code was imposed by China’s customs administration in the early and difficult days of the pandemic
- The black code’s lingering existence is a reminder of the days when China implemented draconian health controls and this needs to end
China has abolished most of its draconian measures designed to control Covid-19, but one small requirement remains: the health declaration form for travellers entering and leaving the country, including the border between Hong Kong and the mainland.
For people boarding a China-bound flight or entering the country via Shenzhen and other ports, it is still mandatory for visitors – including children – to report travel and health information to generate a code that can be scanned before entrance. This also applies to leavers, who have to fill in the same online form to generate a QR code, nicknamed the “black code” by many because of its colour.
This health declaration system was imposed by China’s customs administration in the early days of the pandemic, when authorities had a zero tolerance approach to curbing the spread of the infection.
According to a notice published by the customs administration on January 25, 2020, the black code system was designed to “further improve Covid-19 control at ports and prevent the spread of the pandemic through ports”.
However, with the abolition of all other pandemic measures, such as nucleic testing and travel tracking, this cross-border black code no longer makes sense.
While filling in a form may not be a big deal, it is a time-consuming exercise for frequent travellers between Hong Kong and the mainland, and can leave a bad impression. Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said last week that she will raise the issue when she is in Beijing.