Tourists swarm HK, Macao
By Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-28 01:47

Beijing has witnessed a sharp increase in passport applications in the past several months and the number of applicants heading for the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions has surpassed applicants planning trips to foreign destinations, municipal entry-exit authorities say.

In the past, people applying for permits to the two special administrative regions accounted for roughly two-thirds of those heading overseas.

But between June 26 and July 26 this year, nearly 70 per cent of the 42,000 passport applicants are those planning Hong Kong and Macao trips, said Gao Huada, deputy chief of the Entry-Exit Administrative Division with the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

He said the number of applicants in the past month represented a jump of more than 40 per cent compared with the same period last year.

"At peak time, my division processed more than 2,100 applications a day, three times that of last year," said Gao. "The average number has been 1,800 per day since July 5."

He said this year represents the first summer vacation since the city permitted individual travel last September to Hong Kong and Macao.

"Many parents prefer travel as a reward for their children's hard study, because travel is not only a good way for entertainment but also can broaden one's outlook," said Gao, "This is one of the main reasons for the dramatic increase in passport applications."

"Other reasons include cheaper tour charges caused by fierce rivalries among travel agencies and numerous promotions by the tourism authorities in the two regions," said Gao.

He said his division has added six more reception posts to the previous 11 to handle passport application.

Gao estimates that another peak period will come up at the end of this year, and the total passport applications will surpass 400,000 this year, almost double the number in 2002.

According to statistics, there are about 1.2 million citizens in Beijing who hold passports. They make up nearly 9 per cent of the city's population.

Since last September, Beijingers can receive a passport whenever they apply for one. They simply have to show personal identification documents when applying for one.

Previously, heading on trips overseas sounded like an ordeal that required people to go through complicated procedural redtape.

Gao Tuesday also released information indicating the city will probably adopt a long-awaited "green card" system by the end of next month to grant permanent residency permits to foreigners working in Beijing.

Under the new system, foreigners living or working in Beijing will not have to apply for visas when leaving and entering the city, and the government will allow foreigners to apply for long-term residency permits.

The "green card" will probably apply to high-level foreign professionals, big investors and foreigners seeking to reunite with families, said Gao.

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