John Lee urges Hongkongers to take advantage of Beijing’s new measures, be innovative
- City leader also brushes aside calls for further increase of duty-free shopping allowance for mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong
Hongkongers should be innovative and capitalise on all beneficial measures presented by Beijing, the chief executive has said, while brushing aside calls to push for a further increase in the duty-free shopping limit for mainland Chinese tourists visiting the city.
“Our previous successes mean we can build and make success ourselves,” he said. “We cannot rest on our own laurels.”
To mark the 27th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty on Monday, Beijing announced it would gift Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas and introduce a five-year travel permit allowing permanent residents with foreign passports to enter the mainland.
Some said it was not as attractive as the 100,000 yuan annual limit for the country’s southern province of Hainan, also a popular destination for mainland tourists.