Lawmaker Looks To End Data Roaming On Mainland

Business sector lawmaker Jeffrey Lam said on Monday that he will propose the scrapping of mobile phone data roaming charges between the mainland and Hong Kong as part of a list of recommendations in his Legco report on the "Greater Bay Area" visit of legislators.

The team of 32 legislators and four top officials who toured five mainland cities returned to Hong Kong on Sunday after a three-day trip. The cities are part of the 'Greater Bay Area' area plan, a Beijing initiative to develop Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and eight other cities in Guangdong into a mega metropolitan hub.

"Now when we go into the mainland, we have to pay very expensive roaming charges," Lam said. Doing away with this will mean it will help people going there and mainlanders coming here, he said.

The lawmaker said other recommendations in his report to Legco will include a re-look at the tax paid by Hong Kong residents working on the mainland. Currently, Hong Kong residents who work across the the border for more than 183 days a year have to pay tax there.

Other proposals will cover areas like the movement of people between the two sides and financial transactions.

Lam said the Hong Kong team visited over 20 locations, including technological companies and financial institutions, and they held talks with local officials.

He said most of the cities were further ahead in preparations to join the "Greater Bay Area" plan and Hong Kong needs to catch up.

Lam, who helped arranged the tour, told RTHK's Janice Wong that he is willing to organise another visit to the area, or other mainland cities, if his colleagues are interested.