People in Hong Kong welcomes duty-free allowance increase for mainland visitors

People from all walks of life in the Hong Kong Administrative Region (HKSAR) welcomed a new move of increasing duty-free allowance for luggage articles brought into the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong by visitors who are mainland residents.

On Friday, a notice jointly released by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and State Taxation Administration said that the new policy will apply to adult visitors entering from Hong Kong and Macao whose personal belongings obtained overseas have a total value of no more than 12,000 yuan (about 1,684 U.S. dollars), increasing from current 5,000 yuan (about 688 U.S. dollars). At ports with duty-free shops, the cap will be raised to 15,000 yuan.

The measures will first be implemented at six ports, including Luohu, Futian and Shenzhen Bay, on July 1 of this year. Starting from Aug 1, the measures will be extended to all entry points, except Hengqin port.

John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR, said that he was very grateful for the care of the central government and the introduction of various measures to promote Hong Kong's economy.

The new measures will enhance the shopping experience of mainland tourists in Hong Kong, allowing them to enjoy greater freedom in their shopping. Besides, this will help attract more visitors to Hong Kong and promote diversified tourism development, while boosting Hong Kong's retail market and injecting impetus into the local economy.

"Our residents are very happy and excited when hearing the news. As this 'gift' will inject a lot of impetus into our tourism sector. And we can also see the central government's attention and care for our SAR government and the general public. So, we're very grateful," said Edward Leung Hei, a member of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR.

"The measures to adjust duty-free allowance for mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong will undoubtedly further [strengthen] tourism and business exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, provide convenience for tourists, and bring development opportunities to our retail industry at the same time," said Su Jiaohua, CEO of The Sincere Company, one of the Hong Kong's oldest and most respected retail groups.

People in Hong Kong welcomes duty-free allowance increase for mainland visitors

Persistent heavy rainfall has led to rising water levels across the Yangtze River basin, creating significant flood control challenges for the areas along the main streams and tributaries.

The Three Gorges Reservoir, located upstream on the Yangtze in central China's Hubei Province, has been gradually reducing its discharge rate to alleviate pressure on downstream areas. On Thursday, the outflow was reduced from 24,000 cubic meters per second to 18,000 cubic meters per second and was further lowered to 14,000 cubic meters per second on Friday. This has caused the reservoir level to rise by approximately 2.9 meters, storing 1.46 billion cubic meters of floodwater.

One of the Yangtze's major tributaries, the Zijiang River in central China's Hunan Province, has also experienced significant flooding. The Shaoyang hydrological station recorded water levels exceeding the warning level, triggering the fourth flood event of this year on Zijiang.

The Miluo River, another river flowing through Hunan, flows from east to west into Dongting Lake before joining the Yangtze River. On Monday afternoon, the water level at the Pingjiang hydrological station on the Miluo River hit 77 meters, exceeding the warning level by about seven meters.

Torrential rains have affected over 200,000 people in Pingjiang County, with more than 1,000 roads and bridges damaged and public transportation disrupted. No casualties have been reported so far.

In east China's Anhui Province, the town of Huikou in Susong County is the first town the Yangtze enters as it flows into Anhui. Water levels at the Huikou hydrological station have been rising continuously, exceeding the warning level by about one meter by Monday afternoon. The water levels along the main course of the Yangtze River in the province have all exceeded the flood warning levels and continue to rise.

Additionally, 19 tributaries including the Shuiyang River, Chuhe River, and Xihe River have also surpassed their respective warning levels.

Yangtze River basin battles severe flooding after intense rainfall