'Raise tax-free shopping quota for mainland visitors'
An increase in duty-free allowances and an expansion of multiple-entry visas for mainland visitors are among the proposals put forward by the city's delegates heading to Beijing for the annual two sessions meetings. Speaking to reporters before flying to the capital, Starry Lee, the city's sole delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), said increasing the tax-free shopping quota for mainland visitors to the SAR would boost the city's tourism and economy. "In our preparatory meetings earlier, we proposed raising the tax allowance for tourists from the current 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan, and this proposal has already gained support from some of the representatives from the National People's Congress, and we hope to gain more support later. We'll also discuss other proposals  to boost the city's economy,” she said  NPC deputy and Federation of Trade Unions president Stanley Ng echoed Lee's views. He suggested that the duty-free shopping limit for mainland tourists should be raised further to 50,000 yuan. Meanwhile, Liberal Party chairman and CPPCC representative Peter Siu said the tax-free shopping quota should be raised to 100,000 yuan a year to match the level in the southern province of Hainan.  Siu also called for closer ties with the Greater Bay Area by reinstating a multiple-entry visa scheme for Shenzhen residents and extending it to other cities in the region. Separately, Lee said she "respected and trusted" Beijing's decision to remove Hong Kong affairs veteran Zhang Xiaoming as deputy secretary-general of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Zhang was previously director of the Liaison Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.  He was appointed deputy secretary-general of the CPPCC in 2022.