Hong Kong set to pass Huanggang crossing bill on Friday at the earliest
Legislature will hold additional meeting on Friday to vet Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill ahead of facility’s commissioning deadline
Hong Kong’s legislature is expected to pass a bill providing the legal basis for implementing a “co-location” arrangement at the Huanggang Port border crossing on Friday at the earliest, after approving a government request to hold an extra meeting to scrutinise it.
The bill, which was gazetted on Tuesday, was discussed on Thursday at a special meeting of Legco’s House Committee. Members decided not to form a bills committee for detailed scrutiny.
Legco president Starry Lee Wai-king later approved the government’s request to organise an extra session at 11am on Friday to resume the second reading of the bill, in a bid to speed up preparatory work and open the border facility between Hong Kong and Shenzhen as soon as possible.
If the bill passes this week, it will mark the fastest legislative scrutiny since Legco’s 2021 overhaul under the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle.
Asked if more bills would be tabled quickly, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung stressed that the Huanggang legislation was a “special and urgent situation” because it had to be passed before July 31 so the Hong Kong port area would fall under the city’s jurisdiction.