Exchanges between mainland and HK irresistible

Protesters wearing masks shout at mainland Chinese travellers (C) during a demonstration inside a shopping mall in Hong Kong February 15, 2015. Anti-mainland Chinese demonstrators on Sunday protested against parallel traders and confronted police, government radio reported. [Photo/Agencies]

Whether or not to limit the number of individual tourists from the mainland is a question the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is mulling over.

Generally speaking, a country's citizens are free to go anywhere within a country's territory without a permit. But the "One Country, Two Systems" policy implemented in Hong Kong and article 22 of Hong Kong Basic Law mean that "for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, people from other parts of China must apply for approval".

Before Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, Chinese mainland residents needed to use their passport to go to Hong Kong. And before 2003 Chinese mainland residents could only visit the special administrative region with approval and as part of a travel agency's tour group. Residents of some big mainland cities were allowed to visit Hong Kong for up to seven days in an individual capacity to help the SAR's economy after it was hit by the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndromes in 2003.

Now there are 49 Chinese mainland cities included in the Individual Visit Scheme. Moreover, residents of Shenzhen, the mainland city adjacent to Hong Kong, can visit unlimited number of times every year if they have approval.

According to the latest statistics, there were more than 32 million visitors last year under the Individual Visit Scheme, and Shenzhen residents accounted for 15 million of the overall amount. However, during the Spring Festival holiday this year, the number of Chinese mainland visitors to Hong Kong fell for the first time since 2003.

The purpose of the Hong Kong Individual Visit Scheme is to help promote Hong Kong's economic development. Admittedly it also causes some inconvenience to Hong Kong residents, such as when mainland visitors panic purchase the SAR's stocks of infant formula or pregnant mainland women give birth to their child in Hong Kong. Some Hong Kong activists even besiege and swear at mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong.