'Cooperation to help shoppers make better choices'

A lawmaker announced on Friday that new consumer protection regulations for the Greater Bay Area will assist shoppers in making more informed choices and enhance trust in cross-border shopping. Under this plan, consumer councils in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao will collaborate through information sharing, addressing cross-border complaints, and disseminating joint risk warnings.

Chan Hoi-yan, speaking on an RTHK program, explained that Hong Kong residents frequently encounter difficulties when seeking redress for purchases made on the mainland. She highlighted that this issue extends beyond shopping, as some Hongkongers also travel north for dental procedures like teeth cleaning or implants, often experiencing problems post-travel that require resolution.

Chan emphasized that joint investigations across these regions would generate valuable reference data, reducing reliance on online influencers or word-of-mouth recommendations for selecting dental clinics, hospitals, or nursing homes. Instead, more objective quality surveys and consumer market research would be available. Perry Yiu, another lawmaker on the same program, proposed that Hong Kong should also enhance collaboration with mainland cities to boost tourism.

Yiu noted that many international travelers already arrive in Hong Kong via mainland hubs such as Beijing and Shanghai. By strengthening cooperation between the two sides, more tourists could be directed to Hong Kong, offering them multi-destination itineraries. Yiu believed this would help diversify our visitor base.