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Mainland China praises Tung Chee-hwa for expanding Hong Kong solo travel

The Individual Visit Scheme, launched in 2003, has expanded to 59 mainland cities and helped drive more than a fivefold rise in mainland arrivals to Hong Kong.

Reported · Written up by our desk · China

Mainland Chinese have paid tribute to the late Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive, crediting him with introducing a solo-travel program that helped open the city to large numbers of travelers from the mainland, according to the South China Morning Post.

The outlet reports that the Individual Visit Scheme grew from a handful of cities in Guangdong in 2003 to cover 59 cities across China, stretching as far west as Urumqi in Xinjiang.

Hong Kong’s Henry Tang Ying-yen, who was financial secretary in 2003, said the scheme was designed as part of a wider effort to align with the mainland’s reform and opening up while fostering understanding between residents on both sides of the border.

Tang also linked the timing to post-SARS constraints, saying the scheme was introduced when cross-boundary exchanges were seriously impeded, the SCMP adds.

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