British director of Hong Kong hotel chain lauds new travel permit for foreign nationals
Simon Manning, managing director of Nina Hospitality, uses e-channel to smoothly cross border to mainland China and calls for expansion of policy
A Briton who heads a Hong Kong hotel chain has called for the expansion of a new permit scheme that eases foreigners’ travel to mainland China and allows them to use self-service clearance machines at control points.
Simon Manning, managing director of Nina Hospitality, which operates hotels and residences at eight locations in the city, used the self-service e-channel at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint for the first time on Tuesday, crossing the border smoothly.
He was among the first batch of applicants for the new five-year multi-entry travel permits to mainland China announced on July 1, and had activated his permit at Lo Wu port by having his fingerprints scanned.
Manning, a member of the British Chamber of Commerce, recalled that even with an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card, which allowed him to travel to the mainland without a visa, he had previously always kept local colleagues waiting at the border because he still had to go through the manual counter, while they could use the self-service machines.
“Now I don’t hold anybody up,” said Manning in an interview arranged by local authorities. “It makes it very easy now to access the mainland.”
The new multi-entry travel permit for Hongkongers with foreign passports allows non-Chinese nationals with permanent residency in Hong Kong and Macau to enter the mainland and stay for up to 90 days. Once an application is approved, permits are issued within 20 working days and will be valid for up to five years.