No Expiry Date For Rail Terminal Lease: Govt

The government said on Friday that it has no intention to set an expiry date for the controversial joint-checkpoint arrangement at the West Kowloon terminus of the future high-speed rail – part of which will be leased out to the mainland for immigration and customs clearance purposes.

This was revealed at a Legco bills committee meeting after new lawmaker Au Nok-hin questioned how the SAR government could set up this ‘Mainland Port Area’ in West Kowloon without specifying an end date for the tenancy.

Au said a similar agreement between the SAR and Shenzhen for a similar facility in Shenzhen Bay clearly specified that the arrangement will end in 2047 – and he questioned why this can't be the case for the West Kowloon terminus as well.

He also questioned whether the lack of any expiry date means that the Mainland Port Area will be permanently “ceded” to mainland authorities.

Undersecretary for Security Sonny Au said the government has no intention to add a “sunset clause” to the agreement.

And Transport Secretary Frank Chan added that while local authorities had taken reference from the Shenzhen Bay Port Area when considering the immigration clearance arrangements for West Kowloon, they don’t necessarily have to replicate it exactly.

Critics say government's move to allow mainland officers to operate in the SAR is against the Basic Law and the "One Country, Two Systems" principle. But the administration rejects the charge.