By Dr. Kevin Lau
The rebuilt Huanggang Port commenced operation at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 12, operating under a co-location arrangement with "joint inspection and one-time release" clearance and providing 24-hour boundary crossing services for both passengers and private cars.
This marks a new chapter in Hong Kong–Shenzhen integration. On its first day alone, the port handled 79,500 passenger trips; according to the National Immigration Administration, 886,000 passengers and 74,000 vehicles were cleared in the first week of operation, with overall services described as safe, smooth and orderly. With a designed daily clearance capacity of around 200,000 passengers—five times the roughly 40,000 daily trips handled by the former Lok Ma Chau Control Point—the port's strategic significance is beyond doubt.
Yet an upgrade in hardware must be matched by an upgrade in management and the rule of law, lest these hard-won gains be quietly eroded. Barely a month into operation, warning signs have already emerged. On two consecutive late-October weekend nights, following concerts and Halloween events, roads leading to the port were severely congested. Legislators and the cross-boundary coach trade alike pointed to an influx of suspected illegal "white-plate" cross-boundary hire cars, which occupied lanes reserved for through coaches, as one of the principal causes of the gridlock.
Police responded with decoy operations, posing as passengers booking rides through social media platforms, and arrested a number of drivers suspected of illegal hire-for-reward carriage, with single-trip fares quoted between HK$950 and HK$1,500; nine arrests were made within a single week, including a mainland driver holding an Exit-Entry Permit who was suspected of breaching his conditions of stay.
This is no sporadic offence but an organised profit-making operation involving intermediaries. It must be stamped out decisively before it takes root. It must be stressed that the legal arsenal is already complete. Under section 52(3) of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), no person may drive or use a motor vehicle for hire or reward unless the vehicle is licensed under a valid hire car permit; a first conviction carries a maximum fine of HK$10,000 and six months' imprisonment, rising to HK$25,000 and twelve months for repeat offenders.
These penalties were substantially enhanced by a legislative amendment in December 2023, under which an offending vehicle's licence is suspended for six to twelve months with the vehicle detained by the Transport Department; cross-boundary vehicles additionally face revocation of their Closed Road Permits.
Moreover, the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Online Ride-hailing Services) Bill 2025, passed by the Legislative Council on 15 October, provides that convicted drivers shall have their driving licences disqualified for at least twelve months and up to three years. The severity of the net is no longer in question; what remains is the vigour and persistence of enforcement.
For passengers, patronising a white-plate car is far more than a matter of convenience. The third-party liability insurance of a vehicle providing illegal hire services may be rendered invalid in the event of a traffic accident, leaving passengers and other road users without recourse and stripped of protection precisely when they need it most. Lawful cross-boundary transport options are plentiful; to trade personal safety and legal security for a marginal saving in fares is plainly not worth the risk.
In my view, a lasting cure requires enforcement and facilitation on parallel tracks. On enforcement, the Police should institutionalise decoy operations and online patrols, step up presence around the port and known blackspots, and establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism with mainland authorities, so that offences involving illegal employment or breach of conditions of stay are pursued to the end. On facilitation, the port is already served by seven franchised bus routes, six green minibus routes and five 24-hour short-haul cross-boundary coach routes; the authorities should dynamically increase frequencies in response to weekend and major-event passenger flows, and expeditiously address the bottleneck at the Hong Kong-side pick-up and drop-off area, where eight traffic lanes reportedly narrow into one—for instance, by using vacant sections of the old Huanggang/Lok Ma Chau site as temporary queuing space. Sustained publicity through official websites and social media is equally essential to remind the travelling public of the risks and to urge drivers not to defy the law.
Huanggang Port is a vital component of the Greater Bay Area's connectivity strategy, embodying the shared aspiration of both cities for seamless travel. We must not allow a minority of law-defying profiteers to undermine these hard-earned achievements. Only through resolute enforcement, improved facilitation and sustained education, pursued in concert, can the new port go from strength to strength and truly serve every law-abiding cross-boundary traveller.
The author is the founding convenor of the Hong Kong Global Youth Professional Advocacy Action, a specialist in radiology, a master of public administration, a master of public health of the University of Hong Kong, and an adviser of the Our Hong Kong Foundation.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Kevin Lau:
Opinion | From praise to partnership: Making Northern Metropolis University Town a global success
Comment