Hong Kong’s chief secretary has urged various departments to actively coordinate and consolidate supporting services of boundary control points, traffic and public transport, with around 7.01 million passengers expected to pass through the city during the upcoming National Day Golden Week.
Chairing an inter-departmental working group meeting Thursday, Eric Chan Kwok-ki instructed various departments to better prepare for receiving visitors and promptly respond to various emergency situations and strengthen information dissemination during the Golden Week holiday from Oct 1 to 7.
According to the Immigration Department's estimate, of the around 7.01 million passengers expected to pass through the city’s sea, land and air control points, 5.98 million may use land control points.
Officials and tourism experts are expecting around 1.23 million inbound visitors from the Chinese mainland during the holiday, marking a 20 percent surge from the previous year, with group visits to the city rising by 10 percent.
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With the weather in Hong Kong is expected to be generally fine during the National Day Golden Week, with low chances of heavy rain and tropical cyclones, the number of inbound and outbound passengers using land boundary control points will peak on Oct 1, officials said.
The Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre set up by Customs, Police, the Immigration Department and other departments will be activated from Sept 28 to Oct 7 to monitor the real-time situation at various control points, according to a government statement.
The command center will maintain close liaison with the mainland port authorities and take timely contingency actions to flexibly deploy manpower at the border control points to ensure the smooth operation of the land control points, said the government.
Meanwhile, the Security Bureau will also activate the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre in a timely manner to closely monitor and coordinate the public order situation at various border control points and facilitate inter-departmental follow-up action where necessary to respond promptly to various kinds of emergencies, it added.
Police will arrange necessary manpower to implement corresponding crowd management measures and special traffic arrangements to ensure that all celebrations will be conducted in a safe and orderly manner during the Golden Week holiday.
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The Transport Department's Emergency Transport Coordination Centre will operate 24 hours to closely monitor the traffic condition and public transport services of different districts, including various border control points and major stations.
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Under Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip and representatives of relevant bureaus attended the meeting.