Govt looks to open more border points around the clock
Chief Secretary Eric Chan on Tuesday said the government will look into opening more border crossings around the clock, after many visitors struggled to get back to the mainland after watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve. Chan was speaking to the media after government officials had a meeting with representatives from the tourism and transport sectors on improving cross-border travel arrangements. He said authorities will also discuss with their mainland counterparts the possibility of keeping railway links open later, and stepping up train services on special occasions. Chan added that he will host a high-level coordination meeting to ensure smooth travel across the border on special event days, and authorities will see how to enable cross-border coaches to operate more smoothly. Tourism minister Kevin Yeung said they will work to avoid problems during Lunar New Year next month. "Chinese New Year may be a little bit different because there will be a longer holiday on the mainland, and it's possible that the mainland tourists will likely be spending more time in Hong Kong as well," Yeung said. "That said, we learn from the experience this time and we are taking new measures, so we will [do] all we can and spend our efforts to... try to make sure that the mainland tourists, if they decide to return to the mainland after some of the major events, then the arrangement will be more satisfactory this time." Around 26,000 people headed to the mainland via Lok Ma Chau from midnight to 6am on New Year's Day. Security minister Chris Tang said that figure was five times that of a weekend last month. Currently, Lok Ma Chau and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge are the only border crossings with the mainland that are open 24 hours a day. Freeman Cheung, the secretary of the Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association, said he has asked authorities to extend service hours at the Shenzhen Bay Port. "The Shenzhen Bay Port is a larger port, and it is faster to get to from Tsim Sha Tsui via the highway. It has plenty of parking spaces and tourists disperse quickly," he said.