Two sessions delegates take high-speed rail to heart

A group of Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference took one of the city’s hot-button issues to heart on Thursday, when they left for Beijing by highspeed train for the upcoming two sessions.

By taking the trip from Shenzhen’s Futian Railway Station, the 30-strong delegation hoped to experience the closer connection between the special administrative region and the mainland — and witness the achievement the nation’s infrastructure has brought.

The delegation arrived at Beijing West Railway Station in the evening of the same day.

Leaders who initiated the trip include Wong Tingchung, Hong Kong deputy to the 13th NPC, and five CPPCC members, including George Lung Chee-ming, Cheung Hok-sau, Lau Yu-leung, Kung Chun-lung and Tse Chunming.

Wong said he looked forward to the opening of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in the third quarter of this year.

He believed the local legislation on the immigration and customs co-location arrangement is beneficial to the development of the SAR, the mainland and rest of the world.

The group also hoped to show Hong Kong people the significance of high-speed rail for the city. Once Hong Kong is connected to the nation’s highspeed rail network, travel time to megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai will be significantly shortened, the group said.

The XRL will also help create a one-hour economic zone within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the group said.

Thus the group hoped local legislators will pass the most important joint-checkpoint arrangement for the railway.

The co-location agreement establishes a designated Mainland Port Area at the West Kowloon Station. Passenger train carriages operating on the cross-boundary rail line will fall within the jurisdiction of the West Kowloon Station’s Mainland Port Area, according to the arrangement.

The agreement was previously approved by the nation’s top legislative body — the NPC Standing Committee — and now awaits a final nod from the SAR’s Legislative Council.