‘I miss them so much’: Hongkongers with loved ones in mainland China make final travel preparations ahead of Sunday’s reopening
- After three years of separation, city residents can finally be reunited with family and friends over border as 50,000 daily quota launches
- Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of Society for Community Organisation, says families who had secured initial spots felt like they had won Mark Six jackpot
Tens of thousands of Hongkongers are finalising plans to reunite with family and friends in mainland China, with many packing medicine for Covid-19 symptoms to take over the border, ahead of Sunday’s long-awaited resumption of quarantine-free travel.
Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), a non-governmental advocacy group, said more than 30,000 of its members had secured one of the daily quota spots to head north before Lunar New Year on January 22.
“Many members came to us for help to get a slot online. All our members are thrilled and excited. Some told me they felt like they had won the Mark Six jackpot,” she told the Post. “Many said they hadn’t been so happy for many years. They felt very grateful for being able to get a spot to visit their mainland families after three years of coronavirus curbs.”
From Sunday, 50,000 travellers a day will be allowed to use land checkpoints at the Lok Ma Chau railway station, Man Kam To and the Shenzhen Bay Port to cross the border each day, in both directions, after reserving a spot online. Another 10,000 travellers are also expected to travel by bridge, air and sea entry points.
As of 6pm on Saturday, more than 410,000 residents had registered for visits to the mainland.
Sze said those who planned to go north were mainland migrants and local residents with ties over the border.
“They have different reasons to go north. Some hope to visit their families while some hope to get cheaper medical services or personal matters done,” she said. “They’ve all stocked up on Covid-19-related medicine and health supplements hoping to give them to their mainland families and friends as gifts.”
