Ties between Hong Kong and Taiwan will be strengthened by the relaxation of immigration restrictions and more direct communication between enterprises from both places as proposed by the chief executive (CE) yesterday.

CE Donald Tsang announced that the government will remove the restriction that limits Taiwan visitors to two iPermit applications every 30 days. The iPermit Scheme allows Taiwan residents to apply for entry permits to visit Hong Kong through the Internet.

Holders of iPermits and multiple-entry permits can stay in Hong Kong for 30 days instead of only two weeks when the new rules take effect, Tsang said.

He added the government will encourage business leaders from both sides to form a Hong Kong-Taiwan Business Cooperation Committee to facilitate business communications, and Financial Secretary John Tsang will head an inter-departmental steering committee to coordinate the overall strategy and action plan on closer economic ties with Taiwan.

A government source said there is room for improving ties following the change of political landscape in Taiwan with Ma Ying-jeou taking over the government.

Taiwan residents logged 2.29 million entries in Hong Kong last year, accounting for eight percent of all visits the city recorded. The number of arrivals by Taiwanese travelers from January to August this year stood at 1.56 million, a slight increase of 2.3 percent over the same period last year.

In general, about 70 percent of these arrivals are by travelers on their way to other destinations. The remaining 30 percent of the entries are those who stay in Hong Kong overnight and will spend HK$5,000 here on average.

Another government source said measures should be taken to enhance the role of Hong Kong following the warming relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.

Trade Development Council (TDC) Chairman Jack So said they will establish an office in Taipei soon to promote Hong Kong's services in Taiwan.

Andy Lo, honorary chairman of Taiwan Business Association (Hong Kong) who has been in Hong Kong for 16 years, welcomed the government's sincere gesture.

But Lo said Hong Kong should follow Macao to provide visa-free arrangement to Taiwan visitors.

"There are more Taiwanese visitors choosing to transit to the mainland via Macao since the visa-free arrangement was adopted," he said. "The Hong Kong government is sincere. But that still cannot fully satisfy our needs."

The association chairman Susie Chiang hoped more exchanges between Hong Kong and Taiwan will take place following the establishment of the two committees.

Ties between Hong Kong and Russia are also expected to be strengthened as Tsang said the government is likely to sign visa-free agreement with the country in the near future.

There were 23,174 Russians visiting Hong Kong from January to August. Most of them are business travelers. Trade values between Hong Kong and Russia reached HK$8.33 billion in the first eight months, representing a 43.7 percent increase.

Meanwhile, immigration clearance for traveling between Hong Kong and Macao will be streamlined in mid-2009, Tsang said.

The source said measures being considered include allowing Hong Kong residents to use Macao's electronic immigration clearance channels without filling any forms, and vice versa.

There were 8.17 million visits made by Hong Kong people to Macao, and 626,000 visits by Macao residents to Hong Kong in 2007, representing an increase of 18 percent and eight percent from 2006 respectively.

(HK Edition 10/16/2008 page2)