Starting this Wednesday, residents from Guangzhou,
Shenzhen and
Zhuhai will be able to visit the
Hong Kong and
Macao special administrative regions individually instead of joining tourism groups.
And Luo Juan, deputy director-general of Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, yesterday promised that the Guangdong police would expand cooperation and exchange with their
Hong Kong and
Macao counterparts and immigration departments to help fight the possible cross-border illegal events caused by the large number of individual tourists from her province in the future.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Guangzhou, Luo said her bureau would gradually allow all residents in Guangdong to visit
Hong Kong and
Macao on their own, without joining a tour group, before May 1, 2004.
Luo predicted only a tiny number of Guangdong residents, about 7 to 8 per 10,000, would engage in illicit employment, prostitute, smuggling and other illegal activities in
Hong Kong and
Macao when they travel there individually.
Overstayers and those who break the laws of
Hong Kong and
Macao will be seriously punished. "They will not be granted any travel documents and permits to the two regions for five years," Luo added.
Luo said allowing Guangdong residents to visit
Hong Kong and
Macao individually is not an expedient measure, but a long-term policy to boost exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and
Hong Kong and
Macao and promote economic development.
According to the new regulation, beginning from Wednesday, residents in the three cities only need to hand in their identity card and hukou (household registration) to apply for their travel document to visit
Hong Kong and
Macao individually.
After being granted a visitor permit, the travel document holders will be allowed to stay in
Hong Kong and
Macao for sightseeing for seven days once they enter the two regions.
But civil servants, managers of state-owned enterprises and staff in banks and the financial sector will still have to get approval from their work units to travel individually to
Hong Kong and Macao.
The exit and entry departments of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau charges each applicant only 100 yuan (US$12) per travel document, plus 20 yuan (US$2.40) for each visitor permit.
And all the travel document and visitor permit will be issued within 15 working days.
