Top legislature approves one-stop boundary control arrangement in HKSAR

BEIJING -- China's top legislature on Wednesday adopted a decision to apply a one-stop boundary control cooperation arrangement in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

In the decision adopted by the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature confirmed that the cooperation arrangement, signed by Guangdong Province and the HKSAR on Nov. 18, complied with the Constitution of China and the Basic Law of HKSAR.

The decision said that the HKSAR should ensure implementation of the cooperation arrangement through legislation.

Under the arrangement, a port will be established at the railway station in West Kowloon in Hong Kong, which is part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

The mainland and the HKSAR will respectively carry out exit and entry supervision at the port, including immigration inspection, customs clearance, and inspection and quarantine measures for people crossing the border, as well as their belongings.

The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is scheduled to open in the third quarter of next year.

"Any revision to the arrangement after the port is put into use should be approved by the State Council and submitted to the NPC Standing Committee to put on record," according to the decision.

The cooperation arrangement signed between the mainland and the HKSAR last month marked the first in a three-step process by the two sides.

The second step is for the NPC Standing Committee to deliberate and approve the arrangement, after which the two sides can begin the local legislative process to implement the arrangement.