Beijing promises action on couriers

Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration said on Monday that the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council has agreed to help coordinate efforts to end the angry furor over so-called parallel traders.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the office responded positively to her request to coordinate efforts to curb the activities of literally thousands of cross border traders who have raised tempers and disrupted the lives of residents along the border with the mainland.

Monday's exchange between Lam and Wang Guangya, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, took place during a two-hour closed-door luncheon at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday.

Recalling the conversation, Lam said she had informed the Beijing officials about actions already undertaken against parallel trade, but noted that it would require coordinated efforts from the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration and the General Administration of Customs.

"Once we have concrete proposals in hand, we would need the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to coordinate with relevant administrations," she said. "Response of the director was positive and proactive."

The news came as a 44-year-old mainland courier was sentenced to two months imprisonment in Hong Kong. The woman had been paid to carry goods back to her hometown. In that constituted carrying on a business, she was found in breach of the conditions of her stay, under the city's laws.

The case of the Shenzhen resident, Zhang Zhuoyan, was first mentioned at the Shatin Magistracy on Friday. According to the prosecution, she was found wandering near a warehouse in Sheung Shui and admitted to immigration officers that she was expecting to make money by couriering consumer goods across the border into Shenzhen.

She first denied the charge on Friday, but changed her mind at a second court appearance on Monday in the company of her lawyer.

The lawyer pleaded that the woman made only 1,000 yuan a month for freelance jobs and it was unlikely she would re-offend, because mainland authorities would revoke her multiple-entry permit.

Violation of terms of stay normally carries a three-month sentence, but Zhang received only two months because she had pleaded guilty. Six other couriers were also each sentenced to a two-month term on Friday.

The woman was arrested last week, during a high profile action at the couriers' warehouse in Sheung Shui, following the chief secretary's announcement on last Tuesday of plans to step up curbs on parallel trade. Movement of couriers and bulky goods at rail stations have caused a nuisance to HK's northern neighborhoods.

Apart from the parallel trade request, Lam said she also exchanged views with Wang over the administration's other challenges at the luncheon, but she said there was no particular discussion on the moral and national education subject.

Later in the day, she expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the backing in the city's bid for international conferences event and assistance provided to Hong Kong residents who encountered emergencies in other countries.

Lam is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to make an official visit to the capital since the new administration was inaugurated almost three months ago. Her packed itinerary also covered the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Health, National Bureau of Statistics and All China's Women Federation. She will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday.