Immigration Department 60th Anniversary Report

13 It has been 60 years since the establishment of the Immigration Department in 1961. According to the Chinese traditional calendar, ‘ Jiazi ’ represents a cycle of 60 years and symbolises ceaseless repetition of cycles. Looking back upon its 60 years ’ journey, the department had all along walked abreast with the Hong Kong community. In the early years of its inception, faced with the issues of migrants and illegal entry, our predecessors, undeterred by hardship and difficulties, tackled them with composure. In the many challenges that followed, be it combatting unlawful employment to safeguard local employment opportunities, tackling problems arising from non-refoulement claims in recent years, or rendering assistance to Hong Kong residents outside Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic, we remained united, fearless and relentless in safeguarding the safety and prosperity of Hong Kong. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all our colleagues and predecessors for contributing to our country, to Hong Kong, and to the department by standing fast at their posts with professionalism and forging ahead with resolution. Staying true to the original aspiration of safeguarding the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, the department has been growing robustly. Starting off by serving as the ‘ gatekeeper ’ of Hong Kong ’ s immigration control, we have gradually expanded our service scope to cover registration services that meet the needs of different life stages of members of the public, and have taken on a pivotal role in enhancing Hong Kong ’ s competitiveness by aligning with the development directions of our country as well as Hong Kong in various aspects. In line with Hong Kong ’ s population policy, we have enhanced various visa schemes proactively in recent years. Apart from enhancing our visa processing efficiency, we have also improved the stay arrangements under various admission schemes, so as to foster exchanges between Hong Kong and the Belt and Road countries and attract more technology talent to come to Hong Kong for career development, thereby strengthening Hong Kong ’ s competitiveness, and facilitating its better integration into the overall development of our country. To keep abreast of the times and strive for excellence, the department actively utilises technology to strive for innovation, so as to enhance its efficiency and service quality. For instance, contactless e-Channels will be introduced to refine our highly-acclaimed e-Channel system at the end of 2021, with a view to providing more convenient clearance service for passengers. Clearance facilitation will not only improve the overall connectivity among cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, but also deepen and widen the exchanges between the Mainland and Hong Kong on various fronts in support of the implementation of the forward-looking National 14th Five-Year Plan. In addition, we are committed to promoting the wider use of electronic services. Self-service kiosks and electronic service platforms have been introduced in recent years to allow members of the public to go through the procedures of appointment booking, form filling, registration and document collection in a self-service manner, providing the public with more caring and convenient services. ‘ Courtesy and Compassion ’ is one of the department ’ s values. Under the Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise launched in 2018, we have, with the aim of bringing convenience and benefits to the public, made a series of caring arrangements for the elderly and persons with disabilities, so as to foster the social values of care and inclusion. With Hong Kong residents going abroad for business or vacation more often in recent years, it has become all the more important for us to fulfil the mission of ensuring the safety of Hong Kong residents abroad. We are fortunate to have the full support of, among others, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People ’ s Republic of China (PRC) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Chinese diplomatic and consular missions overseas, which enables us to render practicable and round-the-clock assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong without boundaries and allay their anxiety by helping them overcome difficulties, so that they can feel the staunch support of our country. Without a country, there is no family. National security is the foundation of maintaining stability for a country. As one of the disciplined services in the HKSAR, the department will spare no efforts in supporting the relevant work of the Central Government and the HKSAR Government by conscientiously performing our duties in safeguarding national security according to the Constitution of the PRC, the Basic Law of the HKSAR of the PRC, the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and other applicable laws, so as to securely guard our country ’ s southern gateway. With Hong Kong society getting back on the right track and getting ready to move on now, we will, as always, remain united as one, uphold our mission and forge ahead, so as to better integrate into the overall development of our country, contribute to the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and ensure the successful implementation of ‘ one country, two systems ’ . AU Ka-wang, IDSM Director of Immigration ‘ With 60 years of commitment and dedication, we strive to scale new heights with one heart. ’