Mainland Chinese officials have arrived to set up in port area of West Kowloon terminus of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link
Security minister John Lee said no personnel would be exercising any duties or enforcing mainland Chinese law yet
Hong Kong’s security minister has confirmed that mainland Chinese checkpoint officers and technicians have arrived in the city to prepare for the opening of a cross-border high-speed rail link.
But John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday stressed that none of the personnel would exercise any duties or enforce mainland Chinese law as the port area in the West Kowloon terminus would not be open until late September.
The 26km Hong Kong section of the HK$84.4 billion (US$10.7 billion) Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has been mired in controversy over the joint checkpoint, under which mainland Chinese officials will exercise almost full jurisdiction in their designated zone.
“For testing and system installation [in the terminus], they need to submit an application to the Hong Kong authorities and will be allowed to work only after receiving our approval,” Lee said.
The Security Bureau said that as of early June, the Immigration Department had approved more than 500 working visas to allow mainland Chinese personnel to conduct preparation work in the terminus. About 80 per cent were engineers, while the remainder were from mainland agencies that would be stationed in the port area.
“[Officers from] the immigration inspection authority, customs authority, inspection and quarantine authority, integrated port administration authority and railway police authority need to come to Hong Kong before the mainland port area is open,” the bureau said.
“Before the opening, they will need to obtain visas to work in Hong Kong.”
They need time in Hong Kong to familiarise themselves and rehearse
Transport minister Frank Chan Fan had said in May that mainland personnel would arrive at the terminus before the port area opened for business.