Hong Kong will present plan on co-location of checkpoints for Guangzhou rail link before new government takes over
Undersecretary for Transport and Housing Yau Shing-mu says it will be put forward to public before late June
A controversial plan to set up a joint immigration facility at the West Kowloon terminus for the HK$84.4 billion express rail link to Guangzhou will be presented to the public before the current administration’s term expires in late June, the government has promised.
Undersecretary for Transport and Housing Yau Shing-mu assured the Legislative Council’s subcommittee on railways on Friday that the contentious issue would not be left to the next government to sort out.
“As a responsible government, we will put forward the co-location proposal to the public before the current administration finishes at the end of June so that there will be time to introduce local legislation for the co-location arrangement,” he told lawmakers.
“We still aim to resolve the relevant legal issues on time so the high-speed rail link can start its operations as scheduled for the third quarter of next year, when all construction work is set to be completed.”
He made the pledge as pro-democracy lawmakers again raised long-held concerns that such an arrangement would violate the Basic Law, with mainland officers being stationed deep within the city’s borders at the West Kowloon terminus and enforcing laws on Hong Kong soil. The plan needs Legco’s approval because it involves the enactment of local legislation.
“I am really worried whether there will be mainland officers enforcing mainland laws at the West Kowloon terminus. This is in breach of the one country, two systems principle,” Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said.