James Tien apologises for colleague's suggestion that Hong Kong abolish visa waiver for Indians

James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of the pro-Beijing Liberal Party, apologised yesterday for one of his colleagues who called for Hong Kong to abolish its visa waiver programme for Indian nationals.

The suggestion by Dominic Lee Tsz-king, chairman of the party's youth committee, did not reflect the party's official line on the issue, Tien said, adding that he recognised the importance of Indian tourism and business for Hong Kong.

"I'd like to apologise to the Indian community. They have been a big part of Hong Kong's community for many years and have made a great contribution," the veteran lawmaker said.

"I understand the scrapping of the visa waiver would cause an inconvenience."

On Wednesday, Lee told the South China Morning Post that the government's Security Bureau was considering his suggestion to abolish the programme in an attempt to curb the number of Indian asylum seekers.

The move was a necessary "sacrifice to protect our borders", Lee said.

His comments sparked uproar in the city's Indian community, with business leaders lambasting the idea as bad for tourism and industry.

Several prominent figures told the Post any such policy would result in Indian tourists and businesspeople skipping Hong Kong as their traditional transit point en route to mainland China.

More than half a million Indians visited Hong Kong last year - a jump of nearly 19 per cent from the previous year.

Tien said his party was supportive of the visa waiver programme and that Lee had not thought through his idea.

But Tien said his party was serious about stopping illegal immigrants and asylum seekers from arriving in Hong Kong.