New ideas emerge on creation of joint immigration checkpoint for Hong Kong high-speed rail
Stationing mainland immigration officers in Hong Kong for high-speed rail link would not violate Basic Law, says legal adviser to Beijing
Allowing mainland immigration officers to work at the Hong Kong terminus of the new high-speed rail link to Guangzhou would not contravene the Basic Law, a top legal adviser to Beijing has told the South China Morning Post.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the adviser said such officers would be dealing only with mainland immigration requirements, an issue outside the scope of Hong Kong authorities, and therefore their work would not amount to interference in the city's affairs by a central government department, something prohibited under Article 22 of the Basic Law.
The planned formation of a checkpoint in Hong Kong handling both mainland and local immigration procedures has been mired in legal and constitutional difficulties, raising the prospect that passengers may have to undergo two sets of checks on either side of the border, as is the case with the existing rail link to Guangzhou, which would add at least 30 minutes to travel times.
National People's Congress delegate Michael Tien Puk-sun yesterday proposed amending an annex of the Basic Law to accommodate the mainland officers at a joint checkpoint facility at the West Kowloon terminus following completion of the line.
Tien, a former boss of the Kowloon-Canton Railway and a New People's Party lawmaker, said this would prevent those opposed to such a checkpoint applying for a judicial review into the matter.
But the adviser, a Basic Law expert, disagreed that Article 22 created a hurdle to setting up a joint checkpoint.