A senior provincial public security official yesterday said the exit and entry departments would stick to its applicant interview system in granting travel documents to local residents visiting the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs).

Luo Juan, deputy director-general of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, said yesterday police and officials from exit and entry departments under her bureau will question all the applicants who appear at counters.

And those who are not wealthy and immediately apply for another Hong Kong and Macao visit upon their return to Guangdong will be asked even more questions, Luo told a press conference in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, yesterday.

And applicants who are suspected of participating in illegal activities in Hong Kong and Macao will not be granted travel documents or visit permits, Luo said.

The move aims to further reduce cross border illegal cases which involve some Guangdong tourists.

Meanwhile, Luo promises to expand co-operation and exchange with Hong Kong and Macao police and immigration departments to help fight possible cross border law-breaking.

A total of 636 Guangdong residents have been reported to have broken laws in Hong Kong and Macao while traveling there on their own between August of 2003 and March of 2004.

The figure represents more than two per 10,000. And overstayers accounted for more than 50 per cent of the total.

The other illegal activities that have been caused by Gaungdong tourists include illegal employment, prostitution, smuggling and robberies.

Luo urged Guangdong residents to abide by the mainland's exit and entry regulations and laws in Hong Kong and Macao.

The overstayers and those who break regulations and laws of Hong Kong and Macao will be seriously punished.

"They will no longer be granted any travel documents and visit permits for five years," Luo added.

And starting yesterday, residents from Zhanjiang, Maoming, Yangjiang, Shanwei, Shaoguan, Jieyang and Heyuan in the province can apply for their travel documents to visit Hong Kong and Macao.

The seven cities are the last group of cities where individual visits to Hong Kong and Macao are allowed from Guangdong.

And the first group of tourists from the seven cities will be able to start journeys on May 1, the beginning of the seven-day May Day holiday, Luo said.

With the individual visits, Luo predicts the number of Guangdong residents who go to Hong Kong and Macao for sightseeing during the coming holiday will surge from last year's National Day holiday in October.

Approved by the Ministry of Public Security, Guangdong which borders Hong Kong and Macao, has taken the lead in China to allow its residents to visit Hong Kong and Macao.

The province has handled more than 3.6 million applications to visit Hong Kong and Macao since April 16.

And more than 2.98 million local residents have visited Hong Kong and Macao on their own, contributing to Hong Kong's economic recovery.

(China Daily April 21, 2004)