Border with China May Fully Open by June 2022

Border checkpoints with China to open fully by June 2022

It's interesting to note how the latest updates about Hong Kong's efforts to reopen the border with China are literally coming in drips day after day, not consolidated into one big announcement. It's just like Chinese water torture -- drip by drip we're exasperated by how little information is released each day, leaving us hanging for the next bit of news.

The latest? The border should be fully reopened by June next year -- not February as it was previously speculated.

And the reopening will be in stages too, much to the chagrin of businesses that are desperate to reconnect with clients or suppliers, or families anxious to reunite, children wanting to cross the border to go to Hong Kong for school.

Lam says the reopening will be three stages

There will be a three-stage reopening starting in mid-December as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said before. It will be a pilot program involving daily quotas that will be expanded to larger numbers by February. 

By June all 10 land checkpoints will be fully open, enabling people to come to Hong Kong and China quarantine-free, though they have to meet specific requirements like nucleic acid tests and having the right health code apps.

While priority will be given to business people, and those visiting elderly family members, or attending funerals, cross-border students will have to wait longer because of the sheer numbers of them, says Lam. There is also the issue of them being vaccinated or not.

Lots of people used to cross the border regularly -- in 2019, 236 million people crossed land checkpoints, but since the pandemic hit in late January 2020, only 17.5 million crossed last year in the only two checkpoints open, mostly truck drivers who had quarantine exemptions. 

There are also concerns if an outbreak occurs and how to deal with it. 

"We also need to prepare for the contingencies, say in the case of a new outbreak happening, how do we handle the people who are still crossing the border? How shall we quickly notify people who have travel plans?" said an unnamed government official from Guangdong province. 

People expected border to open after Olympics

While reopening the border is good news for companies, it can't come fast enough.

Joe Chau Kwok-ming, president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, was disappointed the full opening may not happen until June.

"We had hoped that a close to full opening of the border could come after the Winter Olympics [in February 2022]," Chau said.

"There is nothing we Hong Kong businessmen can do but wait. We hope the Hong Kong and mainland authorities can reach consensus earlier. The government perhaps can also explain the difficulties it faces. For many Hong Kong businessmen, what they want is for both sides to find a solution, a way that the mainland side finds acceptable and the Hong Kong government also finds workable."

They have -- it'll just have to take till June...

Businesses and family reunions will be priority

"Many are losing the chance to meet potential clients. Many mainland cities like to have in-person interaction when doing business. The border and quarantine restrictions for the past year have forced many small- and medium-sized companies to lose business," Chau added.

We hear you, but it's all up to Beijing, not Lam...

In the meantime, those wanting to jump at the chance of crossing to the mainland should start booking their booster jabs now as that will probably be a pre-requisite, not just the two.

Real Estate Bull Run Continues

The rendering of The Arles in Fo Tan, New Territories

There are some people in Hong Kong who are really flush with cash.

Today someone bought the entire floor, or eight units of a new development called The Arles in Fo Tan, New Territories for HK$100 million. 

What will the owner do with them? Make them into one giant flat?! Or rent them out? Or buy them for eight family members? 

Prices of the flats ranged from HK$6.17 million to HK$23.5 million for 228 sq ft to 947 sq ft. 

Three rounds of flat-selling have been held so far

In Fo Tan. 

An industrial area.

In total 116 flats out of 272 were sold, with a 15 percent discount to HK$20,905 per square foot.

Apparently buyers came out with confidence on hearing the news the border with China may reopen in February, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's big plans for the Northern Metropolis near the border, where it is expected 2.5 million people may live there in 20 years. 

The metropolis will include Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Sheung Shui and Fanling.

"Since the stock market has recently been less volatile, the overall sentiment towards the property market is pretty good," Midland Realty's chief executive of the residential division Sammy Po Siu-ming said. He indicated more buyers are entering the market after Lam's policy address about the Northern Metropolis.

Buyers are bullish on the Northern Metropolis

So these buyers are bullish on Hong Kong, particularly the New Territories, but the prices are breathtaking.

HK's Press Freedom from Two Sides

The Foreign Correspondents' Club at crosshairs with Beijing

The Foreign Correspondents' Club may be in a perilous position after the Hong Kong office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the association of abandoning its professional ethics and "sowing discord" over the state of press freedom in the city.

The condemnation came after the FCC published a survey of 99 journalists, of which 83 said the working environment for the media had "changed for the worse" since Beijing imposed the national security law in June last year.

Media landscape changed after NSL enacted

More than 90 percent of respondents also had concerns about a looming law against "fake news", which the government wants to introduce to combat doxxing, hate speech and misinformation amid the coronavirus pandemic, and after the anti-government protests in 2019.

"We urge the FCC to stop sowing discord and refrain from interfering with the law-based governance of [the Hong Kong administration] and [the city's] rule of law in the name of press freedom," said the office of the foreign ministry's commissioner in a strongly worded statement.

"The FCC has walked away from its professional ethics. Its misleading report, based on just a few responses, is neither representative nor credible. Its smearing of Hong Kong's press freedom and playing up of the chilling effect are interference in Hong Kong's affairs."

FCC respondents concerned about reporting

However, on the club's website, FCC president Keith Richburg said the club would not respond to the ministry's statement.

The FCC survey found more than four-fifths of respondents had noted the challenges of finding sources willing to be quoted for news stories since the national security law was enacted, with even relatively neutral topics deemed too political by interviewees.

One FCC member said previously sources were more willing to speak on any topic within reason, while publications had no real concerns on what they could publish, or on protecting who would speak to them.

"Now, many people are reluctant or refuse to talk on sensitive subjects, and our organization, especially after the raids on Apple Daily, is much more cautious about data security and the ability to protect sources," the member said.

Apple Daily was forced to close earlier this year

Apple Daily saw its publisher Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and several executives and newsroom editors arrested on security law charges, and was ultimately forced to shut down earlier this year.

Fifty-six percent of survey respondents said they practiced some self-censorship or avoided reporting on what might be considered sensitive stories.

Another member added considering covering the topic of Hong Kong independence had to be carefully considered before covering it in detail.

"These results clearly show that assurances that Hong Kong still enjoys press freedom, guaranteed under the Basic Law, are not enough," Richburg said of the survey before Beijing's rebuke.

"More steps need to be taken to restore confidence among journalists and to make sure Hong Kong maintains its decades-long reputation as a welcoming place for the international media."

Richburg say confidence must be restored

However, the foreign ministry office said the survey's findings had "attacked the national security law", and countered that the legislation had protected the country, restored social stability and given people a greater sense of safety.

"Thanks to the law, Hong Kong could refocus on fighting Covid-19, revitalising the economy and improving people's livelihood," it said.

It should be pointed out that the survey's respondents are mostly expats, though it wouldn't be surprising to find local journalists feel the same, if not even more worried about the effect of the national security law on their reporting.

But the foreign ministry insists everything is fine in Hong Kong, if not better with the national security law, so the FCC perhaps is hoping to resolve the situation by agreeing to disagree. Though one gets the feeling that won't satisfy Beijing...

Henderson Land Clinches Prime Harbourfront Plot

Henderson's blueprint presents lots of green spaces in Central

Developer Henderson Land Development is bullish on Hong Kong -- specifically Central district.

It had the winning bid of HK$50.8 billion (US$6.5 billion) for the New Central Harbourfront Commercial Site 3, beating out five other developers.

This plot of land was sold for HK$50.8 billion

Henderson will spend another HK$63 billion to develop the site which is the plot of land in front of the Hong Kong General Office and City Hall. The winning bid will feature three main buildings, the one closest to the waterfront will be multifunctional, while the other two will be office towers. Most of the land will have greenery in mind as well as public spaces. 

The old Star Ferry clock will be reconstructed in around the same spot as a visual landmark and showcase the city's maritime heritage.

According to Knight Frank, the Central Site 3 ranks as the second most expensive land transaction worldwide of all time, after a 861,120 sq ft site in Seoul's Gangnam district was bought by a Hyundai Motor-led consortium in 2014 for 10.5 trillion won (US$10 billion).

Market observers said the record price for the prime plot will boost the city's commercial property market and reinforce Hong Kong's position as a world class global financial hub.

Plowing that much money into Central means a big vote of confidence for the district even though the Lam administration has plans to develop the area near the border with the mainland.

Three buildings will be on the site, two are offices

"Although there are other large-scale developments such as Northern Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow Vision in the pipeline, it would take 15 to 20 years for these projects to be fully completed and at least another decade for other areas to mature," said Martin Wong, head of research and consultancy of Greater China at Knight Frank.

"Central will remain the financial centre for Hong Kong in the foreseeable future," he added.

As we said earlier, Lam's vision of people sleeping better will have to wait at least 15 years...