Document-free travel trial to mainland from next week

Hong Kong, Macau and mainland travellers will be able to enter the mainland at two border checkpoints without showing their travel documents starting next Wednesday. The National Immigration Administration said on Friday the trial scheme is meant for making things more convenient for travellers, as well as raising border clearance efficiency. The trial will take place at self-service gates at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and the Gongbei crossing between Macau and Zhuhai. The scheme covers people aged 14 and above who travel frequently for private but not business reasons. It also applies to non-ethnic Chinese who have a mainland travel card. "[Residents] who agree to the border inspection agency collecting facial information, fingerprints and other information for verification can choose to use the 'document-free' channel at border inspection, without showing physical travel documents," the authorities said in an announcement. They said all travellers should still bring along their travel documents, in case officials need to check them after they cross the border. The authorities said the scheme would gradually expand to cover other border crossings, as well as children aged under 14. Hong Kong's sole delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Starry Lee of the DAB, said her party welcomes the trial scheme, saying it's something they called for several times in the past. "Overall speaking, this is a very important trial arrangement, a major step. It's a response to many Hong Kong people's demands for crossing the border even more conveniently," she told reporters. Her partymate and the convenor of the SAR's delegates to the National People's Congress, Brave Chan, said the move will boost the economies on all sides as travelling becomes more convenient.