BEIJING (AP) – After two years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure he was one of the first to cross the border after crossing points reopened on Sunday .
The ability of residents of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city to cross is one of the clearest signs of China’s easing of border restrictions, with travelers arriving from abroad also no longer required to undergo quarantine.
“I’m hurrying to go back to him,” Cheung told The Associated Press, carrying a heavy suitcase, as he prepared to cross at Lok Ma Chau station.
However, passengers traveling between Hong Kong and mainland China are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the past 48 hours – a measure China has protested against being imposed by other countries.
Hong Kong has been badly hit by the virus, and its land and sea border posts with the mainland have been closed for nearly three years. Despite the risk of new infections, the reopening will allow thousands of people who booked online earlier each day, expected to give a much-needed boost to Hong Kong’s tourism and retail sectors.
On a tour of the station on Sunday morning, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the sides would continue to expand the number of crossing points from the current seven to a full 14.
In this photo released by Xinhua news agency, people wearing face masks with their luggage rush to catch their train at the railway station in Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu province, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (Li Bo/Xinhua via AP)
“The goal is to get back to normal life before the pandemic as soon as possible,” Li told reporters. “We want to get the cooperation between the two sides back on track.”
The Communist Party newspaper Global Times quoted Tan Luming, a port official in Shenzhen that borders Hong Kong, as saying that about 200 passengers were expected to go to Hong Kong, while another 700 were due to travel in the other direction, the first time since the reopening. Day. Tan said a steady increase in passenger numbers is expected in the coming days.
“I stayed up all night and got up at 4:00 a.m. because I’m so excited to return to the mainland to see my 80-year-old mother,” said a Hong Kong woman identified only by her surname, Cheung. Said paper said, arriving in Shenzhen, where she was presented with “roses and health kits”.
Limited ferry service was also restored from China’s Fujian province to the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, just off the Chinese coast.
The border crossing with Russia at Suifenhe in the far northern province of Heilongjiang also resumed normal operations, just in time for the opening of an ice festival in the capital of Harbin, a major tourism draw.
China’s borders remain largely sealed, however, with only a fraction of the previous number of international flights arriving at major airports.
Beijing’s main capital international airport was expecting eight flights from overseas on Sunday, according to the airport. China’s largest city, Shanghai, received its first international flight under the new policy at 6:30 a.m., followed by a small trickle of other international flights.
That number is now expected to trend upwards, with booking inquiries for overseas flights overwhelming some online travel services ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush later this month. Capital International is preparing to reopen the arrivals hall which has been quiet for most of the past three years.
China is now facing a surge in cases and hospitalizations in major cities and is set to spread to less developed regions in the coming days with the start of China’s most important holiday.
A woman cares for her elderly relative lying on a stretcher as patients receive intravenous drips at the emergency ward of a hospital in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Officials say they expect domestic rail and air travel to double from the same period last year, bringing the total numbers closer to the 2019 holiday period before the pandemic hit.
Meanwhile, controversy continues over testing requirements being imposed on Chinese travelers by foreign governments – most recently Germany and Sweden. China says they are not science-based and has threatened unspecified countermeasures.
Chinese health officials publish daily counts of new cases, serious cases and deaths, but those numbers only include officially confirmed cases and use a very narrow definition of COVID-19-related deaths.
Officials say that since the government ended mandatory testing and allowed people with mild symptoms to test themselves and rest at home, it can no longer provide a full picture of the state of the latest outbreak.
Government spokespeople have said the situation is under control and reject allegations from the World Health Organization and others that it is not being transparent about the number of cases and deaths or providing other important information on the nature of the current outbreak. which can cause emergence. New variant.
Despite such claims, the health commission on Saturday implemented rules to strengthen surveillance of viral mutations, including testing of urban wastewater. The lengthy rules asked hospitals and local government health departments to collect data and increase investigations on “pneumonia of unknown cause.”
Criticism has largely focused on the heavy-handed enforcement of the rules, which include open-ended travel bans that keep people confined to their homes for weeks, sometimes sealed inside without adequate food or medical care. are done.
Anger was also expressed at the requirement that anyone who potentially tests positive or has been in contact with such a person be confined to a field hospital for observation, where overcrowding, poor food and sanitation are common. was cited.
The social and economic costs eventually prompted rare street protests in Beijing and other cities, likely influencing the Communist Party’s decision to rapidly ease strict measures and restart development.
Under the latest changes, China will no longer even press criminal charges against people accused of violating border quarantine rules, according to a notice issued by five government departments on Saturday.
The notice states that the persons currently detained will be released and the confiscated property will be returned.
The transport ministry on Friday called on commuters to minimize visits and gatherings, especially if they involve elderly people, pregnant women, young children and people with underlying conditions.
