Limits to visits to SAR from mainland highlighted

The chairman of China's top legislature on Wednesday met with political advisers from Hong Kong to discuss the city's political development and relations with the Chinese mainland.

During the meeting, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), stressed that a deep understanding of the true nature of the "One country, Two systems" policy and upholding the authority of the Constitution and the Basic Law are crucial to ensure that Hong Kong's development stays on track, China Central Television reported.

He added that development and the rule of law are the ultimate means to deal with challenges, pledging that the central government will support the Hong Kong government's efforts.

Zhang's words were echoed by Lam Shu-chit, a member of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, who said that the city's opposition parties intend to challenge the authority of the "One country, Two systems" policy and the central government's power. "Some young people in Hong Kong misinterpret the policy as complete independence. The lack of understanding of the Basic Law is the reason why [the pan-democracy parties] proposed ideas like civic nomination which goes against it," Michael Tien Puk-sun, a Hong Kong NPC deputy, told the Global Times.

Proposals were also brought up to limit the number of visits of residents of neighboring Shenzhen through multiple-entry permits to Hong Kong. Tam Yiu-chung, a CPPCC member, told the Global Times that this is not meant to undermine the contribution of Chinese mainland tourists to Hong Kong's economy.

"The number of visitors coming through the multiple-entry permit has been increasing over the last few years and has created pressure in different districts in Hong Kong, as the city has limits to the amount of people it can accommodate," Tam said.

Introduced in 2009, the multiple-entry permit entitles Shenzhen residents unlimited number of visits to Hong Kong every year. Several minor protests have broken out over the last two months against the scheme.

Hong Kong now allows individual visitors from 49 mainland cities, with over half of them from Shenzhen.

Discussions over the impact of mainland tourists to Hong Kong, according to Tien, have been "politicized" by the city's opposition parties as an excuse to distance Hong Kong from the mainland.