Hong Kong’s leader receives ‘positive feedback’ from mainland Chinese authorities on possible resumption of multiple-entry permit scheme

Chief Executive John Lee brushes aside concerns that allowing Shenzhen residents to make unlimited visits to Hong Kong could lead to return of parallel trading chaos

While residents living along border say they would welcome return of more customers, others stress transport links may become overwhelmed

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Cross-border travellers at Shenzhen Bay in Hong Kong. “We used to have a problem with parallel trading but things have changed,” Hong Kong leader leader John Lee says. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 12:34pm, 16 Jan 2024Updated: 8:38pm, 16 Jan 2024

Hong Kong’s leader has said he received “positive feedback” from mainland Chinese authorities during talks on measures to lure more tourists over the border, including the possibility of resuming a multiple-entry permit scheme for Shenzhen residents and allowing those from cities elsewhere in the country to make individual trips south.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also brushed aside concerns on Tuesday that allowing Shenzhen residents to enter Hong Kong as many times as they wanted under a one-year permit could lead to a rebound in parallel trading in border towns, saying “things have changed” and pointing to visitors’ new spending habits.

“I’m receiving positive feedback from the departments we have been talking to, but of course, some details need to be ironed out and I hope to be able to get some decisions made [as soon as possible] so that we can tell everybody,” Lee told reporters before the weekly meeting of his Executive Council, the government’s key decision-making body.

Tourists in Sheung Shui in February last year. The multiple-entry scheme for Shenzhen residents could be brought back before the Lunar New Year, according to a government source. Photo: Edmond So

City authorities would have to take into account the views of the relevant mainland authorities, he said, adding they shared the opinion that “people-to-people exchanges work best for both sides”.

While Lee did not provide a specific timeline on when a decision would be made, a government source previously suggested the goal was to resume the multiple-entry scheme for Shenzhen residents before the Lunar New Year holiday next month.

Introduced in 2009, the scheme was replaced by once-a-week permits in 2015 after concerns mounted over parallel traders buying goods tax-free in Hong Kong to resell on the mainland at a profit and the city’s ability to cope with surges in single-day visitors.

The chief executive said authorities would examine “all potential threats and risks” and put mitigation measures in place, but he also stressed that spending patterns and market conditions on the mainland had changed in the years since the parallel trading boom. Online shopping had become more popular over the border and mainlanders could choose from a greater diversity of products, he noted.