This is the 1733rd issue of "Hong Kong One Day".
National Immigration Administration: From now on, foreign tour groups will be exempted from visas to enter the country by cruise
The National Immigration Administration announced today (15th) that from now on, the visa-free entry policy for foreign tourist groups on cruise ships will be fully implemented in China's coastal provinces. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) welcomes this.
Mao Xu, director of the Department of Foreigner Management of the National Immigration Administration, said that the new policy will provide policy support for the development of the cruise economy and cruise industry, and create a new engine for high-quality development; It is also conducive to attracting more foreigners to visit China for sightseeing and tourism, and providing richer and more convenient channels and ways for Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges. Source: Radio Television Hong Kong
The policy stipulates that starting from today (May 15), foreign tour groups (2 people or more) who take a cruise ship and are received by domestic travel agencies can enter the cruise group without a visa from the cruise ports of 13 cities including Tianjin, Dalian, Liaoning, Shanghai, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, Wenzhou and Zhoushan, Zhejiang, Xiamen, Fujian, Qingdao, Shandong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong, Beihai, Hainan, Haikou and Sanya, Guangzhou, and the tour group must go to the next port with the same cruise ship until the cruise leaves the country and stays in China for no more than 15 days. The scope of activities is coastal provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and Beijing Municipality.
At the same time, in order to support the development of cruise tourism, seven cruise ports in Dalian, Lianyungang, Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beihai and other places have been added to the ports applicable to China's transit visa-free policy, so as to facilitate foreign passengers who meet the conditions of China's transit visa-free policy to take cruise ships. Prior to the implementation of this new policy, the mainland had piloted a visa-free entry policy for cruise tour groups in Shanghai in 2016. Mao Xu, director of the Department of Foreigner Management of the National Immigration Administration, said that Shanghai's reception of cruise passengers increased by 10% annually, and the pilot results were obvious.
This year's "May Day" Golden Week, Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui Avenue of Stars, is full of tourists. Data map
In this regard, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government announced today that it welcomes the new measures launched by the National Immigration Administration today. According to the Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the new policy will attract international cruise companies to develop more cruise itineraries, including mainland ports and Hong Kong, which will help Hong Kong play its role as a demonstration core area of "multi-destination" and promote the development of Hong Kong's cruise industry.
"Multi-stop" means that multiple destinations are covered in one complete journey. The CEPA and its supplementary agreements signed between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as the "multi-destination" mentioned in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, refer specifically to the high-quality tourism routes jointly developed by the Mainland and Hong Kong and the Mainland and Macao, especially the joint tour routes between Guangdong and Hong Kong and Guangdong and Macao.
In August last year, Resorts World One, whose home port was Hong Kong, docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, and the HKSAR Government launched a number of inter-ministerial initiatives to facilitate tourists to disembark and enter the city. Source: Hong Kong 01
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said that Hong Kong is a cruise hub in Asia, attracting tourists from all over the world to come to Hong Kong to take cruises and stay in Hong Kong before and after the trip to experience the local tourism characteristics and bring economic benefits. The HKSAR Government will continue to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness as a cruise hub in Asia through various measures and seize the opportunities brought about by the development of the country's cruise industry.
Zhu Zhenyu, deputy director of the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, said that up to now, 21 international cruise ships have been operating in ports in mainland China. Including Japan-South Korea routes, Vietnam routes, Hong Kong routes and so on. The cruise transport market is generally stable and orderly, and Zhu Zhenyu expects that the national cruise transport passenger volume will continue to recover steadily in 2024.
A delegation to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong experiences the achievements of the motherland's overseas development
Hong Kong Legislative Council President Leung Junyan posted on social platforms today (15th) that the Hong Kong Legislative Council delegation led by him arrived in Indonesia from Malaysia yesterday (14th) evening, and today began the fourth day of the inspection in ASEAN. The delegation visited the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and experienced the speed of the train. When the train reached a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the members of the delegation could not help but applaud and were very excited.
During the group photo of the members of the delegation of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, they posed a gesture representing the "fast and instantaneous" arrival of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway. Source: Liang Junyan's personal social media
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, named after "Whoosh", simulates the sound of a train running at high speed, and is an acronym for "time-saving, efficient, and advanced" in Indonesian. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia and the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly built by China and Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and Bandung, the capital of West Java Province and the famous tourist city of Bandung, with a total length of 142 kilometers. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail was opened in October last year, and the travel time from Jakarta to Bandung has been greatly shortened from more than three hours to about 40 minutes. As of April this year, the cumulative number of passengers sent by the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has exceeded 2.56 million.
During their stay in Indonesia, the Legislative Council delegation of Hong Kong will meet with the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN to exchange views on Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Source: Liang Junyan's personal social media
Leung Chun-yin pointed out that the members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council delegation felt very cordial when they took the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway. Because the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is the first overseas railway project to make extensive use of Chinese railway systems, technologies and industrial components. Members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council are delighted and honored to experience first-hand the "Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail Economic Belt" created by the "Belt and Road" landmark project, which has created benefits for Indonesia's transportation and economy. The cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries has not only introduced advanced railway technology to Indonesia, but also injected a strong impetus into Indonesia's economy, trade, employment, tourism and infrastructure construction. The delegation also took the opportunity to share with the management of the Jakarta-Bandung Express Rail Link the operation and management of the Hong Kong Express Rail Link, and to explore new opportunities for future cooperation with Indonesia in the operation of the High Speed Rail.
Hong Kong citizens protested at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong
On May 13, the British police announced the indictment of three people, claiming that they were suspected of providing assistance to the intelligence services of the Hong Kong SAR government. In this regard, this morning (15th), more than a dozen Hong Kong citizens protested at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong, criticizing the British side for arbitrarily arresting Chinese citizens.
Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
They held high the national flag and held up banners reading "Strongly condemn the UK, arbitrarily arrest Chinese citizens, slander and smear the Hong Kong SAR Government", and hold signs with slogans such as "Unreasonable arrest, mischief" and "Britain abuses the name of national security and ignores basic human rights protections".
Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
At the same time, the citizens at the scene chanted the slogan "Strongly condemn the United Kingdom, make something out of nothing, malicious slander, political tricks, doomed to failure, China's internal affairs, inviolable" to express the voice of Hong Kong citizens.
Author丨Guo Yongji, chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News