Hongkongers ‘vote with their feet' by spending weekends, holidays in mainland China, city's No. 2 official says

HKFP

7 hours ago

The trend of Hongkongers spending weekends and holidays in mainland China reflects their recognition of its development, Hong Kong's second-highest official has said.
People in Hong Kong 'vote with their feet' by travelling to mainland China for lower-priced goods and services, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said in an interview with the Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po published on Monday.
Chan was referring to the growing number of Hong Kong residents who travel to neighbouring mainland Chinese cities for weekends and holidays since the city lifted its Covid-19 restrictions and reopened its border in February 2023.
During the four-day Easter holidays in April, around 1.86 million Hong Kong residents left the city, with around 1.6 million heading to mainland China, according to the Immigration Department.
In the interview, Chan said that understanding and identifying with the country were key to preventing future political turmoil, such as the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests and unrest.
Some Hong Kong residents had been 'misled by toxic media outlets' during the protests and felt dissatisfied with mainland China, Chan claimed. He added that some young people did not even have a Home Return Permit, a document that allows Hong Kong and Macau residents to travel to the mainland.
The rising number of Hongkongers visiting mainland China shows they are recognising its development, Chan said
'This is just like how many citizens, after realising the good quality and low prices in the mainland, enjoy going north to shop during holidays,' Chan said.
'It all begins with recognising the country's development – only then do they 'vote with their feet' and understand how to show their support,' he added.
Although Hong Kong enacted its domestic security law – commonly known as Article 23 – in March last year, Chan said the city still needed to strengthen its efforts in patriotic education.
The government fosters national security awareness through four steps, namely 'understanding the country,' 'identifying with the country,' 'caring for the country,' and 'consciously safeguarding national security,' he said.
The authorities will 'enhance the attractiveness of national security education' by using multimedia in exhibitions, the chief secretary also said.
He added that the government would organise more than 100 celebratory activities across the city to mark five years since the national security law was enacted and the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule.
Separate from the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.