Relaxation of frontier closed area restriction of Sha Tau Kok Town（2017/05/24）（Supplementary）

MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, in recent years, in order to cope with the huge flow of people between the Mainland and Hong Kong, the Government has invested an enormous amount of capital in the development of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Liantang boundary control point, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Line, and so on. But over a long period of time, the Government has taken a most conservative attitude towards the opening up of the Sha Tau Kok FCA. I think the Government obviously wanted to avoid troubles or failed to progress with the times, or I would even say that it has adopted double standards. In the main reply the authorities stated that the prime consideration is the lack of a physical barrier separating the two places along the border or concern about not meeting the security requirements. But making consideration with an open mind or from the angle of providing convenience to the public, I think the authorities should further look into how the border facilities in Sha Tau Kok can be increased or how the restrictions can be relaxed. Can the Secretary undertake to conduct further studies in this respect and even draw up a timetable for gradually opening up the area, so that we can see the future direction?
 

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr YIU for his supplementary question. I think the geographic features of Sha Tau Kok Town are a major decisive factor. Currently there is no official immigration control point at Chung Ying Street in Sha Tau Kok Town and as a matter of fact, the setting up of a control point is out of the question for geographical limitations. We can look at the relevant example in the Mainland. At present, in the Sha Tau Kok district on the Mainland side, their control point is located not at Chung Ying Street either but at a place farther away. This is because of geographical restrictions. I hope Mr YIU will understand that geographical restrictions cannot be tackled easily by administrative measures. This problem does not exist only today. We will continue to keep this in view and if some good methods can be identified, I believe any government will then take them into consideration.