Calls grow for removal of declaration requirement as travel sees surge
Cross-border passengers scan their “black code” — a certificate of successful health claims — at the Lo Wu Control Point to enter Shenzhen from Hong Kong on Monday. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
The Hong Kong community on Monday reacted enthusiastically to the simplified cross-border health declaration procedure, saying the adjustment, which comes as a response to public demands, is expected to promote cross-border exchanges and economic vitality between the special administrative region and the Chinese mainland.
The health declaration for cross-border travel, also known as the “black QR code”, was imposed by the nation’s customs administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, cross-border passengers need to complete an electronic health declaration form, which contains different items, and generate a QR code on their smartphones every time they enter or leave the mainland.
On Sunday, the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government streamlined the health declaration procedure, including cutting travel details such as residence and seat number on transportation tickets, and simplifying the reporting requirements for travel history and contact information.
The number of declaration items has been reduced from 18 to 10 for inbound travelers and from 17 to nine for outbound travelers. The declaration content for individuals traveling between the mainland and one of the SARs has been optimized from 11 to nine items.
Starry Lee Wai-king, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s top legislature, said the optimization has met the expectations of Hong Kong people.
Lee said that during a recent session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the national authorities acknowledged the significance of improving the cross-border declaration procedure and pledged to further simplify the arrangements.
Lee pledged to follow up on the matter during the next session of the Standing Committee, with the hope of promptly canceling the declaration requirement. In spite of the necessity for a health declaration system to detect and prevent infectious diseases from overseas, the cancellation of such a procedure is the essence of a complete return to normalcy after the pandemic, she said.
For example, Lee said, she has proposed that the nation’s customs authorities exempt Hong Kong and Macao residents from declaration requirements to help alleviate congestion at the border checkpoints.
Lee said she also asked the nation’s customs service to consider allowing cross-border passengers to make a declaration only when they enter the mainland and not when they leave.
Hong Kong lawmaker Benson Luk Hon-man said the streamlined requirements will be convenient for both mainland and Hong Kong residents. The move partly addressed concerns that the previous declaration arrangement often caused long lines at checkpoints during peak hours, he said.
He stressed the adjustments were timely as both regions are striving to boost their economies by increasing travel between the mainland and Hong Kong.
The need to further simplify or even eliminate such health declaration requirements still exists, said Luk. He mentioned that travelers often face challenges filling out online declaration forms when mobile signals are unstable, while elderly travelers may be unfamiliar with the technology.
