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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has beefed up its immigration manpower at the Lowu border checkpoint Friday, as the number of HKSAR residents traveling into the mainland to spend the Chinese New Year has started to swell.
The HKSAR Immigration Department revealed that it already recorded about 59,000 outbound residents crossing the Lowu checkpoint into the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone at 11:30 a.m. Friday, and estimated that the number is expected to swell in the evening. As many as 220,000 HKSAR residents are estimated to cross into the mainland via Lowu on Saturday alone, it added.
Chief HKSAR Immigration Officer C. H. Au said, "Since this morning, it's been very busy. Until 11:30 a.m. we have processed 59,000 outbound tourists. On average, about 10,000 tourists depart from the HKSAR.
"We've transferred about 68 colleagues to Lowu to assist with the outflow. As a result, the order has generally been well maintained. On average, citizens manage to cross the border in 15 to 20 minutes," Au said.
Au said as the evening falls, the department will play it by ear and possibly open up all counters if necessary and liaise with the authority in the Shenzhen, if there is a need to extend the border crossing hours.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2003)
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