Lawmaker demands gov’t prepare early for border normalization with Hong Kong

Lawmaker Ip Sio Kai has called on the government to release more details of plans for border normalization between Macau and Hong Kong.

He pointed out that border restrictions between the two Special Administrative Regions have impacted the economy and modes of life in the two localities. More importantly, he said, border normalization with Hong Kong is crucial to Macau because 20% of Macau’s visitors came from Hong Kong.

Ip expects that Hong Kong residents will be likely to visit Macau, reasoning that Hong Kong residents like to travel a lot but foreign travel is still very inconvenient.

Furthermore, he said, Hong Kong residents usually do not travel in tour groups, so it will be more beneficial to traditional communities.

On the business side, Ip has been told that many local companies rely on IT support from Hong Kong. Technicians being unable to visit Macau has affected their operations. Business operators who need to attend commercial events and meetings in Hong Kong have not been able to do so for the past two years without quarantine requirements.

The public had anticipated border normalization back in December, but this did not come to fruition.

The local government has hinted that, even if border normalization is implemented, quotas will be levied in the early phases. Spaces would be reserved for those with urgent needs.

However, the lawmaker pointed out that the government has so far not disclosed any further details about the quota. He therefore asked the government to make early preparations and make the guidelines clear, such as the daily quota and eligibility requirements.

Moreover, he proposed an online pre-screening mechanism to allow the government to gather data on the number and types of interested registrants. He also demanded that the government prioritize interested registrants who have business needs. AL