CS inspects operations at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year, inspected the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point to learn about the arrangements and operation conditions for customs clearance, diverting passenger movements, public order maintenance, etc at the control point during the Chinese New Year period. Mr Chan was accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok; and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat. He also met the frontline staff of the Immigration Department (ImmD), the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Hong Kong Police Force on duty to extend his Chinese New Year greetings, and expressed his gratitude to them for performing their duties with dedication during the holidays, enabling visitors to continue to enjoy quality and efficient services during the arrival and departure peaks.
Mr Chan was pleased to note that the relevant government departments have been diligently co-ordinating the ancillary arrangements of boundary control points (BCPs) and transportation, as well as maintaining close liaison with relevant organisations and the travel trade to be well prepared for crowd management, information dissemination and public transportation arrangements, with a view to ensuring the smooth operation of various aspects in receiving visitors. The ImmD has operated additional and temporary counters and channels at various BCPs to divert passenger and vehicular flows. Relevant departments of the BCPs have minimised leave for frontline officers to enable a flexible deployment of manpower.
The Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre set up by the Police, the ImmD, the C&ED, and other relevant departments commenced operation last Saturday (February 14) to monitor the real-time situation at various BCPs, and to take timely contingency actions as necessary for flexible deployments. Moreover, the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre of the Security Bureau (SB), and the Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department will closely monitor the public order and traffic situation at various BCPs and districts to respond promptly to different kinds of emergencies.
Mr Chan appealed to visitors arriving in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holidays to plan their itineraries ahead of time. He encouraged them to stay overnight after participating in various local celebratory activities for the Chinese New Year to fully experience Hong Kong's festive culture as well as its unique city charm. Members of the public and visitors may also visit the Hong Kong Tourism Board's one-stop Chinese New Year festive webpage (www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/what-s-new/events/chinese-new-year.html) and the SB's one-stop information platform on immigration clearance "Easy Boundary" (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/bwt/status.html?type=outbound) to obtain useful information such as opening hours and waiting times of major tourist attractions, respective average waiting times for passengers and private cars at land BCPs as well as those for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus to plan their trips and save waiting times.
Mr Chan expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Government colleagues and practitioners of various industries for their hard work during the Chinese New Year period. He also expressed his wishes for the stability and peace of the motherland, a thriving economy, and every success to the community.
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (front row, left), accompanied by the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok (back row, third right) inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Immigration Department today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (first right), accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung (second right) inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Hong Kong Police Force today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki (third right), accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung (second left), the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok (first right); and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat (third left), inspects the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point as he receives a briefing from staff of the Customs and Excise Department today (February 17), the first day of the Chinese New Year. He also thanked all the colleagues on duty during the Chinese New Year holidays. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
