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HKSAR passports more popular, convenient  |
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Five years on after Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997, many Hong Kong people have abandoned their British National (Overseas) or BNO passports in favor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports.
Sources from the HKSAR's Immigration Department revealed that so far during the past five years, as many as 1,850,000 Hong Kong people have applied for the HKSAR passports.
With the HKSAR government having managed to obtain visa-free access to as many as 113 countries or regions so far, many Hong Kong people have abandoned the BNO passports, which enjoyed visa-free access to 89 countries only, even though their BNO passports may still be valid.
Many people told Xinhua that they find it more convenient to use the HKSAR passports when going overseas to travel, work or study.
Ah Leung is of those who think the HKSAR passport is not only more convenient, but also offers consular or embassy protection from the Chinese government in times of distress.
Working for a local television station as a journalist in Hong Kong, he was required to travel to Pakistan and Uzbekistan to cover the war in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack.
Knowing that his valid BNO passport offers little visa-free convenience, let alone consular protection in times of difficulty, he promptly lodged his application for the HKSAR passport just before the assignments.
"Before the hand-over, I had used the BNO passport when I traveled overseas. Not only did no one give any respect to it, holding this document, you yourself would feel like a second-class citizen.
Ah Leung said the HKSAR passport, with the "People's Republic of China" printed on its cover, gives him a sense a security, who needs to travel overseas frequently for work purposes.
"Even my family and company said they felt safer for me to go with the HKSAR passport," he said.
Editor:Inner Wu
Source:Xinhuanet
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