NeoDemocrats call for end to multi-entry permits for Shenzhen residents

Stories about overcrowded swimming pools and faeces in a shower cubicle have emerged as the latest salvos from those arguing for a cap on mainland visitor numbers.

Residents in the New Territories have complained that tourists are placing a strain on pools in Sheung Shui, Tai Po and Tuen Mun during the summer period, according to Tai Po district councillor Francis Yam Kai-bong.

"Residents have told me they could not get into Sheung Shui swimming pool because it was full," Yam said yesterday.

His political group, the NeoDemocrats, wants to scrap multiple-entry permits for Shenzhen permanent residents in order to lower the demand placed on public resources from visitors.

Yam said that since May, he had received seven complaints about a public pool situated minutes away from Sheung Shui MTR station. He described the facility as quite small, with only a leisure pool featuring rides and no standard pool.

Another concern was public hygiene, he said.

"A cleaner found faeces inside a shower cubicle even though a toilet was just next to it," Yam said. "We have no proof to show who was responsible, but the problem [of hygiene] has worsened over the past two years."