APEC finance chiefs meet in HK; security chief vows minimal disruption
Hong Kong will impose traffic diversions and temporary restricted zones near the APEC finance ministers' meeting venue next week, with early public notice to minimise inconvenience, the security chief said. He added that coordination with mainland authorities is complete and border controls at the n
Hong Kong's security minister, Tang Ping-keung, said traffic diversions and temporary restricted zones will be set up near the venue of next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) finance ministers' meeting in the city, with advance notice to the public to keep disruption to a minimum.
Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, Tang said authorities would shorten the duration of the arrangements and reduce their impact as far as possible. He noted that Hong Kong has hosted numerous international conferences before and that residents are familiar with such measures, adding that a good balance would be struck.
The APEC leaders' summit will be held in Shenzhen. Tang said multiple coordination meetings had been held with mainland authorities, and that most VIP guests are expected to travel by air rather than by land. However, he said the possibility of leaders or senior officials passing through Hong Kong could not be ruled out, so security would not be relaxed. He said numerous drills had been completed and security would be strengthened.
On the new Huanggang checkpoint, Tang said about 300,000 people have registered on the e-channel application for joint inspection and face-scan clearance. He acknowledged that on the day the checkpoint opened, car clearance was congested between 11am and 1pm, with some people waiting about half an hour in the northbound holding area. He attributed this to concurrent traffic changes in Shenzhen and passengers not yet accustomed to getting out of vehicles and opening trunks before clearance. After additional staff were deployed, the queue cleared quickly, he said.
Tang stressed that controls on travellers remain strict at the new checkpoint, with upgraded equipment for detecting prohibited items. He said no criminal cases have been found there so far.