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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-08-01 07:00
Last update date: 2020-08-01 07:00The epidemic in Hong Kong continues, and the mainland's restrictions on Chinese and Hong Kong drivers are gradually tightening. The industry and society are all worried about the impact of freight. The Hong Kong government should come up with a support plan in advance to minimize the impact.
With the outbreak of the Hong Kong epidemic, on July 23, Shenzhen and Zhuhai required cross-border truck drivers to have a certificate of negative nucleic acid test within 72 hours when entering the country. On Monday (27), Guangdong Province also tightened measures. If in the past 14 If the driver is living in a building in Hong Kong with a confirmed case of new pneumonia within the day, or a cross-border truck company has a driver with a confirmed case, his exemption from immigration isolation will be temporarily cancelled. On Wednesday (29th), the mainland tightened the immigration measures for cross-border drivers, requiring them to go back and forth within 8 hours.
So far, Chen Dishou from the Container Transport Industry Workers' Association estimates that only about 10% of truck drivers traveling between Shenzhen and Hong Kong have enough time to go back and forth, and the remaining 90% are at risk of being removed from the exemption list. The epidemic in Hong Kong continues. It is understandable that the Mainland is considering tightening measures to safeguard its own public health and safety. However, the Hong Kong government must coordinate more actively, seek to balance the epidemic prevention and economic exchanges between the two sides, and specify plans in advance to minimize cross-border driver clearance. The impact of policy tightening on the industry and logistics.
After the mainland tightened the immigration measures for cross-border drivers, there were cross-border drivers waiting in line for customs clearance at Huanggang Port. (Provided by industry insiders)
China-Hong Kong logistics matters
At present, there are currently 4,600 China-Hong Kong trucks and about 10,000 cross-border drivers serving China-Hong Kong freight, of which 20% to 30% trucks transport daily necessities of local residents. Therefore, the tightening of cross-border driver entry and exit policies may affect the supply of fresh food and daily necessities from the Mainland to Hong Kong, leading to rising prices in Hong Kong. At the same time, the unemployment rate in Hong Kong rose to a high of 6.2% in more than 15 years. Among them, the unemployment rate in retail, accommodation and catering services was 10.7%, and the unemployment rate in catering services activities reached 14.7%. In other words, while the prices of goods are rising due to the lack of circulation of freight, the poverty of the people is also serious. The government must anticipate this crisis as early as possible. When considering the seriousness of the situation, it will either allocate money to the whole people again, or designate industries to increase living subsidies, or consider subsidizing businesses to lower product prices.
The government should discuss with the industry and experts as to which types of goods will be greatly affected or there may be shortages, and whether the government needs to come up with countermeasures as soon as possible to avoid shortages. Of course, the most fundamental thing is that the government should actively discuss with the mainland government and there is no other channel to ensure the smooth flow of goods. For example, whether it is possible to set up a driver specifically responsible for transit at the border crossing, and the team will transfer the goods on both sides.
Cross-border drivers criticized the new restrictions for "not being able to reach the plane." (Profile picture)
In addition to subsidizing civilian use, the government should also provide more subsidies to the cross-border driver industry that has been greatly affected. In the new regulations, if a driver’s building is unfortunately diagnosed, or the driver’s business cannot go back and forth for 8 hours outside of Shenzhen, livelihoods will be greatly affected. For example, the trade union stated that it expects the Hong Kong government to provide a one-time subsidy of 10,000 yuan to help drivers tide over the difficulties. The government should also pay more attention to financial support for cross-border drivers.
In fact, as early as April, when Shenzhen first tightened cross-border freight, and required all Hong Kong cross-border freight drivers to provide health certificates when entering the country, there were many voices in the community that the government did not provide enough support to the industry. The Transport Department replied that the relevant departments of the two places have been maintaining communication through existing channels. Regarding the immigration management measures implemented by the Mainland on cross-border truck drivers, the Mainland departments have consulted the relevant departments of the Hong Kong government and the Transport Department has also operated the industry. Report to the mainland authorities about possible difficulties. However, the plight of cross-border drivers and the freight difficulties caused by the tightening of industry policies still have no practical solutions, and the government has not prepared a plan for possible future crises. The tightening of cross-border freight transportation is of great importance. The government should be more proactive in understanding and solving problems so as not to cause chaos when a crisis occurs.
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