National People's Congress Standing Committee member Tam Yiu-chung on Monday said it is "not realistic" for people to think that the central government will ease its border restrictions as soon as the Communist Party of China's National Congress wraps up.

Speaking a day after the opening of the party's 20th national congress, Tam explained that the Covid-19 pandemic is still fluctuating with the emergence of more infectious variants, and there's a need to avoid major outbreaks.

"Just because we hope for an immediate border reopening after the 20th party congress ends, that doesn’t mean it would happen. This is just not realistic," Tam,who is Hong Kong's sole delegate to the country’s top legislative body, told an RTHK programme.

However, he also pointed out that research on homegrown booster vaccines and Covid antivirals are under way, and the availability of these drugs can help bring the idea of border-reopening closer to reality.

Tam said while there will be "some changes for sure" in terms of border measures after the party congress, it will take time for mainland officials to prepare for the adjustments.

He said he hopes authorities there will increase the quota to allow more Hong Kong residents to cross the border.
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Last updated: 2022-10-17 HKT 14:29