Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said that local police will continue talks with their mainland counterparts about the details of a new entry-exit system initially planned exclusively for the future Duck Channel checkpoint.
Wong added that the government would ensure that the new system will comply with the Macau Basic Law and that no mainland law enforcement officers will be allowed to operate on the Macau side.
The new system is informally known as ‘two borders, one check’. The Public Security Police (PSP) announced earlier this year that the two sides would set up automated immigration facilities straddling the land border at the future ‘Duck Channel’ checkpoint, as well as “one or two traditional immigration clearance counters”.
The PSP also said the local government had been in talks with the central government about the new system, which would only require one immigration check for Macau residents of Chinese nationality when travelling to, or returning from, the mainland via the checkpoint. Residents now need only to show their Home Visit Permit when entering the mainland, and their local ID (BIR) when returning to Macau. Local residents without a Home Visit Permit, such as foreign nationals who have acquired local residency status, cannot use the automated clearance facilities.
Community leaders, lawyers and academics have raised concerns about potential privacy issues and grey areas resulting from the differences in both sides’ legal systems.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ‘March of a Million’ charity event, Wong said that the local police would discuss further details of the system implementation with their mainland counterparts today.
“We will consider the possible problems associated with the legal implementation and the Macau Basic Law,” Wong said, adding that law enforcement officials from the mainland would be barred from enforcing mainland laws on Macau’s side of the checkpoint, and vice versa.
Probed by reporters about locals’ personal data being unprotected – as the system will automatically record data on both sides of the border – Wong pointed out that some private information is already given to the mainland authorities upon application for the Home Visit Permit.
However, he added that both parties would give due consideration to the nature and amount of personal data that will be accessible from either side. MDT/Macauhub
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