Statistics on parallel traders (2014/07/02) 

 Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, to a question by Hon Yiu Si-wing in the Legislative Council today (July 2):

Question:

     It has been learnt that parallel trading activities have caused nuisance to the daily lives of residents in the North District, and that parallel traders make multiple trips to and from Hong Kong on a day.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has surveyed the respective daily average numbers of adult mainland people and Hong Kong residents who entered and departed Hong Kong twice as well as thrice or more within the same day (a round trip being counted as once) in the past five years, as well as their respective percentages in the total numbers, with the figures to be set out in Annex; if it has not conducted any survey, of the reasons for that;

(2) whether it has investigated the purposes of the persons mentioned in (1) in making trips to Hong Kong; if it has, of the details, including the percentage of parallel traders among such persons; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it has any new measures to further combat parallel trading activities; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Administration's reply to Hon Yiu's questions is as follows.

(1) and (2) The Immigration Department (ImmD) does not maintain statistics on the number of Mainland visitors and Hong Kong residents who made two trips or more to Hong Kong on the day of arrival in the past five years.  The data compiled by the Department between November 2013 and March 2014 indicates that, among Mainland visitors travelling to Hong Kong on multiple-entry individual visit endorsements, around three per cent (i.e. around 1 200 persons per day) made two trips to Hong Kong on the day of arrival; only less than one per cent of the visitors (i.e. around 30 persons per day) made three trips or more to Hong Kong on the day of arrival.

     Information indicates that Mainland residents arrested in enforcement operations against parallel trading held various types of endorsements, including single-entry and multiple-entry endorsements, and also endorsements for visiting relatives, business and individual visits. Besides, some of those arrested only entered Hong Kong once a day. Therefore, we cannot prove that a visitor is a parallel trader solely on the basis of the number of entries, otherwise visitors with genuine need to travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland more than once a day, such as parents, guardians or carers escorting cross-boundary students, may be affected.

(3) The HKSAR Government is very concerned about the nuisance of parallel trading activities caused to the daily lives of residents.  Since September 2012, the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have implemented a series of measures to improve order at railway stations and boundary control points, so as to uphold the daily lives of our residents.

     The LEAs have been refining their enforcement strategies in response to the mode of operation of parallel traders to combat parallel trading activities more effectively.  For instance, since some parallel traders have recently distributed goods in a small volume by trolleys at various streets instead of at rented warehouses to avoid law enforcement actions, the LEAs have modified their mode of enforcement.  The ImmD together with the Police Tactical Unit of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) set up large-scale cordons and successfully arrested Mainland visitors suspected of being involved in parallel trading activities.

     In addition, to crack down on the supply chain of parallel goods, the LEAs have strengthened intelligence exchange.  After collecting and analysing information on the parallel trading network, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) pinpoints suspected parallel goods storage and packing establishments, and passes intelligence to the ImmD and the HKPF to conduct enforcement actions.  Through a hotline, the C&ED also maintains close liaison with the Shenzhen boundary control points to allow for immediate notification and interception of suspected parallel traders.

     After a series of enforcement actions, parallel trading activities have subsided. The HKSAR Government will continue to take targeted measures against parallel trading activities, including intelligence collection and exchange, joint operations, immigration control, etc., as well as enhancing co-operation and conducting joint operations with relevant Mainland authorities.