The Government should take into consideration people’s daily needs, such as coming to Hong Kong for school or work, before proposing any change to the Individual Visit Scheme, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Gregory So said today.
Speaking with reporters, Mr So said the Government is aware it must be prudent before requesting such proposed drastic changes as scrapping the multiple-visit scheme for Mainlanders. It is important to strike a balance between the impact on the economy and the community's livelihood, he stressed.
Mr So said people should not mix up tourists and parallel traders, and stressed that Government departments have been working together to combat parallel trading.
A protest against parallel traders in Yuen Long yesterday was caused by a small group of radical people expressing their views in a radical way, he believed, adding that Hong Kong people oppose drastic action that causes market disruption or damages people's livelihood.
The Government has been liaising with the relevant Mainland authority to express Hong Kong people's views of the Individual Visit Scheme. The Chief Executive will pay an official visit to Beijing this week in which he will again convey Hong Kong people's views, Mr So added.
