Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. China News .




SINO DAILY
Beijing limits visits by mainland Chinese to Hong Kong
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) April 13, 2015


Japan, China, S. Korea agree to boost tourism: reports
Tokyo (AFP) April 12, 2015 - Japan, China and South Korea briefly put aside territorial and historical disputes Sunday for rare trilateral talks announcing a bid to boost tourism numbers in the three countries to 30 million visitors in five years.

Japanese tourism minister Akihiro Ota met with counterparts Li Jinzao of the China National Tourism Administration and Kim Jong-Deok of South Korea in Tokyo, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said.

The meeting -- the first by tourism ministers of the three countries in four years, according to Jiji -- came ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and Japan's 2020 Summer Olympics.

The three ministers agreed to set a goal of raising the number of visitors between them to 30 million in 2020 from some 20 million in 2014, the news reports said.

The ministers also sought to work together for launching a "Visit East Asia" campaign to attract tourists from other countries during events such as the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020, they said.

The three separately called for measures to prevent problems arising from different daily habits and to ensure the safety of tourists, Kyodo said.

In Beijing, Chinese state media on Saturday announced it will create a "blacklist" of its tourists who behave badly overseas after a series of embarrassing incidents involving Chinese travelling abroad.

The initiative comes amid simmering territorial rows between the three neighbours.

The dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over a tiny set of South Korean-controlled islets has rumbled on for decades, in tandem with highly-emotive disputes related to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Beijing and Tokyo have similar issues, and the disputes are being highlighted as the region prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan held talks in Seoul last month and pledged to work towards a trilateral leadership summit at "the earliest" opportunity, but observers say such a meet is unlikely in the short term.

Beijing has scrapped unlimited entry to Hong Kong for mainland Chinese visitors whose voracious shopping for everything from baby milk powder to iPhones has emptied stores and stoked bitter resentment in the protest-hit city.

Tension remains high in the southern Chinese city after two months of pro-democracy street rallies were cleared in December with no sign of concessions from the authorities.

An influx of millions of Chinese visitors to Hong Kong has become the latest source of strain, prompting protests by residents who are hostile to China's increasing influence. The protests have led to clashes with police and arrests.

"Anything that increases tension between Hong Kong and mainland society is not tolerated," city leader Leung Chun-ying said Monday as he confirmed a limit on the number of visits which mainlanders from Shenzhen can make.

Mainland authorities have now stopped visas that allow residents from the border city of Shenzhen to make unlimited trips to Hong Kong, he said, restricting them to one visit per week.

Leung said the new restrictions were suggested by the Hong Kong government and adopted by Beijing, adding it will affect about 4.6 million travellers, or nearly 10 percent of the annual 47 million mainland visitors.

The decision to restrict mainlanders' entry was aimed at curbing the practice of "parallel trading" in which visitors buy up prized goods such as baby formula in Hong Kong and resell them in China's border towns to avoid tariffs.

Critics in the semi-autonomous city have said mainland visitors also push up prices, increase delays at border crossings, clog up public transport, and behave badly.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday the policy arose from concerns over "growing pressure" on the city's border due to a surging number of travellers.

Leung admitted the move would not completely end parallel trading, because Hong Kong residents may become parallel traders, adding the government would continue to crack down on illegal activities.

- 'Businesses may suffer' -

Hong Kong has a separate customs jurisdiction from mainland China, which imposes tariffs on foreign imports.

Concern over how retailers may be affected dragged some share prices down Monday.

Shares in cosmetics retailer Sa Sa International dropped 6.24 percent to HK$4.06 ($0.52) while Chow Tai Fook, which sells jewellery, fell 2.93 percent to HK$8.95.

Pro-business lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung said plenty of small businesses may also suffer. "Several thousand people may lose their jobs," he said late Monday.

But a resident of Sheung Shui, one of the city's border towns, welcomes the policy: "They (parallel traders from mainland) are always pushing their carts around. Their luggage may roll over your feet. The policy can definitely reduce such nuisance," he told Cable TV news.

Some mainland netizens however branded the policy as unfair.

"One country two systems. Hong Kong people returning to China should have weekly limits to meet the requirements of equal status," a netizen wrote.

Another wrote: "Hong Kong (people) really are hypocrites (wanting wealth while not wanting tourists)."

Leung also warned against further protests targeting mainland visitors, describing them as "unruly" and "counter-productive".

Hong Kong opened up to Chinese tourists in 2003 in a bid to revive its economy after an outbreak of the respiratory disease SARS, allowing mainland Chinese to visit as individual travellers rather than as part of an organised tour.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SINO DAILY
Parents in last minute plea for release of China feminists
Beijing (AFP) April 12, 2015
The parents of five Chinese feminists detained for more than a month have issued an eleventh-hour plea to authorities for their release, as a lawyer for the activists said prosecutors have until Monday to charge them. The young women face being charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", which could see them jailed for up to five years after they were detained by police in early M ... read more


SINO DAILY
Hong Kong defends US dollar peg as stocks surge

World Bank welcomes China's new bank in poverty fight

Chinese tycoon Liu snaps up ancient vase for $15 million

When will Kazakhstan finally be allowed into the WTO?

SINO DAILY
Fishing amplifies forage fish collapses

EU to simplify GMO import approval: sources

More food, low pollution effort gains traction

Living mulch, organic fertilizer tested on broccoli

SINO DAILY
Holdout Mali rebels refuse to initial peace accord

Pygmies demand end to discrimination in DR Congo

Nigerian president quits voting station after tech glitch

Regional troops retake Nigerian town from Boko Haram

SINO DAILY
Discovery by Virginia Tech may be breakthrough for hydrogen cars

China auto sales up 3.3% in March: industry group

BMW recalls almost 80,000 vehicles in China

Toyota to build plant in China in investment splurge

SINO DAILY
Russia keen to build more nuclear power plants abroad

Russia and China Hold Talks on Broadening Nuclear Cooperation

Texas Rare Earth Resources and AREVA Sign Uranium Deal

Delivery of Vessel Head to the Tihange 3 Nuclear Reactor in Belgium

SINO DAILY
French TV5Monde hit by 'pro-Islamic State hackers'

New coalition forms to end mass US surveillance

Singapore Telecom to buy US cybersecurity firm for $810 mn

White House says classified systems not hacked

SINO DAILY
China turns Nationalist veterans from outcasts to propaganda heroes

Czech leader, US ambassador clash over Moscow visit

US, Japan trust each other but both wary of China: poll

Japan rebuffs international outcry over new history textbooks

SINO DAILY
Cornell deploys dual ZephIR lidars for more accurate turbulence study

U.S. to fund bigger wind turbine blades

Gamesa and AREVA create the joint-venture Adwen

Time ripe for Atlantic wind, advocates say




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.