HONG KONG, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- For many non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents, the month of August unfolds with not just scorching heat, intermittent showers and forced stay indoors, but "fresh starts" of more flexible and leisurely journeys.
From now on, and for the next five years, they will be traveling at ease with their new travel permits, the first batch of which having been issued starting Wednesday.
A Singaporean surnamed Wong and her family were among those who were queuing to get their "dream permits" at an application service center for mainland travel permits in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, on Day One of the permit's issuance.
"We are super excited to get the permits so that we can travel to the Chinese mainland much more easily. We're planning to take our kids to nearby Shenzhen and some other mainland cities in a week or two," said Wong. Wong said she and her family have lately been taken away by tempting cuisine options and landscape shots of Chinese mainland cities on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like app popular among the Chinese.
"With a new permit, we can literally go anytime we want, for example, on the weekend," she told Xinhua.
In fact, many shared the joy of Wong. According to stipulations, holders of the permit will be allowed multiple entries into the Chinese mainland within a five-year validity period, with each stay not exceeding 90 days.
After receiving his permit, an Indian businessman by the name of Rajim said he "couldn't wait" to see for himself what those second and third-tier cities in the Chinese mainland are like. In the past, he has been to metropolises including Beijing and Shanghai, but is now yearning to see around influencer city Chengdu.
"I filled up my form right away on July 10, Day One of the application, and later had my fingerprint, photo and documents collected. On-site procedures took no more than 15 minutes. And I now get my permit in about three weeks," he said. "The whole process went on relatively smoothly."
"With a new pass, it will definitely be much more convenient because I no longer have to line up. I'm gonna experience the express channel at the border with a card almost as handy as the Octopus Card," said Gary Lim, a member of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) committee, who came here for the permits with his wife, also an applicant, and was planning to visit a few mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in mid-August.
Alfred Buchner, a former committee member of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao, who came to pick up his permit with his wife and daughter, called this new measure "a boon for expats like himself based in Hong Kong," as they will be able to arrange their trips to the Chinese mainland more flexibly without restrictions by scenic spot reservations, hotel bookings or the weather.
Paul McComb, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, told Xinhua earlier that with the implementation of the new travel policy, Hong Kong, with an enabling business environment and internationally-aligned legal and tax systems, will further leverage its role as a "super connector" between the Chinese mainland and the overseas, and is expected to be more appealing because "capital will flow to where the opportunities are."
Prior to the issuance, many Hongkongers said the time queueing for entry could last for up to an hour, but now things are "going electronic" in many ways. Dato' Gan Khai Choon, chair of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao and a seasoned entrepreneur himself, said the permit will benefit him, a frequent visitor to the Chinese mainland, hugely.
"The smoother travel can potentially draw a growing list of businessmen and professionals like me who have the demand to travel around between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong," Gan said, adding that up till now, dozens of members of his chamber have filed their applications. ■
