The Government's co-location plan for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is a "pioneering approach" to cross-boundary rail travel.
This was the message from Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan today, speaking to the media after his Central & Western District visit.
He said while the US and Canada's cross-border rail system involves entry screening for travellers, passports are not checked on the way out.
"We have to appreciate the co-location of immigration, customs and quarantine in the Mainland Port Area in Hong Kong. It is very different from, for example, like in Canada and the US, because for those places, they are usually taking care of the entry requirement. But on the exit, they do nothing about it.
"In Hong Kong, the arrangement is double because not only when they enter Hong Kong they have to have clearance for entry, but when they leave Hong Kong they also do the exit clearance.
"(This) is rather unique, at least in Asian countries, but more correctly, even if we put it into the context of the global situation, this would be one of the most pioneering approaches."
