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| Customs officials direct passenger traffic arrangements at the Lo Wu crossing |
Hong Kong Customs has drawn up a series of measures to
prepare for the arrival of tourists from the Mainland as the Labour Day Golden
Week across the border starts today, May 1.
According to official arrangements, Chinese workers will
start a five-day break from today, although this is the only the actual holiday
during this period. May 2 and 3 are compensation days for working on April 28,
a Sunday, and on May 11, a Saturday. May 4 and 5 is a weekend.
Customs Commissioner Louise Ho inspected operations at the
Lo Wu Control Point and the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point, and
met frontline staff there yesterday to direct the arrangements at the control
points for the long holiday.
Ho said there will a flexible deployment of staff to ensure
smooth operations and speed up passenger clearance at each control point.
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| TAWAG NA! |
Customs has also stepped up patrols at popular shopping
spots in various districts and distributed pamphlets at land boundary control
points and popular shopping spots to ensure that the rights of customers are
protected.
Ahead of the five-day holiday, Customs also produced promotional
videos shared on social media platforms
on the mainland, to warn customers about common unfair trade practices in Hong
Kong. Mainland tourists were particularly reminded to pay attention to import
and export requirements as well as items that are prohibited and controlled.
Among the targeted places for the information drive are
shops selling dried seafood and ginseng medicine and jewelry in such tourist
hubs as Yau Tsim Mong and Causeway Bay.
Retail shops and workers in the tourist industry are also reminded not to violate
the Trade and Description Ordinance (TDO).
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| PINDUTIN DITO! |
Tourists are also advised to check on product specifications
and make comparisons before buying. They
should only patronize reputable shops, and carefully check the listed
prices for the goods before paying.
Customs has also set up a Quick Response Team in response to
the expected rise in the number of cases of unfair trade practices committed
against Mainland tourists by local shops .
Under the TDO, any seller who adopts unfair trade practices,
including making false trade descriptions in relation to goods, misleading omissions,
aggressive commercial practices as well as bait and switch practices, commits
an offence. The maximum penalty for offenders is a fine of $500,000 and
imprisonment for five years.
The public is encouraged to report suspected violations of the TDO to the Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
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