According to a check by the Post, the website said at 11:30 a.m.: “[the appointment] “The quota is full today” although service resumed in the afternoon.
Director-General John Lee Ka-chiu said earlier in the morning that online booking was almost complete and the government would continue to negotiate with the Chinese agency to facilitate applications.
“The new measure can enhance Hong Kong’s unique status and advantages,” he said, highlighting it as an example of the city’s guiding principle of “one country, two systems.”
“I think this can increase interactions between non-Chinese permanent residents and mainlanders. It will definitely bring good things to both sides.”
Lee also said the new arrangement could also help the city’s non-Chinese community contribute to national development.
District councillor Rizwan Ullah said members of the ethnic minority community had expressed interest in applying for travel permits because current visa application procedures were “complex” and time-consuming.
“We have to prepare many documents in advance… Even if we have the visa, it takes a long time to go through the immigration procedures because the officers ask a lot of questions,” he said.
“The Chinese government now treats us as members of China… With the entry permit, I think we will be treated differently because we are no longer considered foreigners.”
Ullah said the permit could help integration as members of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities could open bank accounts, set up offices and apply for driving licenses more easily in mainland China.
Under the new arrangement, non-Chinese permit holders can enter the mainland for short-term purposes, such as investment, visiting relatives, tourism, business, seminars and exchanges. They can stay for up to 90 days per visit, but are prohibited from working, studying or engaging in information-gathering activities.
They will also benefit from self-service at checkpoints once they have completed procedures such as fingerprinting.
Under the current system, visa holders must use manual channels, provide fingerprints and fill out entry cards each time.
Ilyas Mohammad, a member of the government-appointed committee for promoting racial harmony, said non-Chinese residents often have to wait several hours to apply for a visa and endure long waits at immigration under the current system.
He said the new policy was a good deal as a five-year multiple-entry travel permit costs just HK$260 (US$33), while it would be a “win-win” for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority groups and mainland businesses.
“With such ease, more people will come to mainland China to do business and shop,” he said. “We are very happy that Hong Kong and China have thought of us.”
Jeff Bent, general manager of Worldwide Cruise Terminals, who visits mainland China more than 10 times a year, also said on a radio show that he would apply for the new permit, saying it would help him bypass manual immigration channels.
Last October, the city government announced that foreign staff of Hong Kong-registered companies could apply for multiple-entry visas to mainland China lasting two years or more with priority processing, with non-Chinese permanent residents having a visa validity period of up to five years.
New People’s Party lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan said the previous measure was limited to business trips, while the new permit covered a broader range of travel purposes.
She hopes the project could encourage more non-Chinese Hong Kongers to visit mainland China.
“It can let them know more about the mainland… It’s a good opportunity to tell beautiful stories about Hong Kong and China,” Yung said on a radio show.
