22 Constitution and Administration
HKSAR's Offices in the Mainland
The HKSAR Government has four offices in the Mainland: the Beijing Office and three ETOS in Guangdong, Shanghai and Chengdu4. These offices are mainly responsible for enhancing liaison and communications with the CPG and other Mainland authorities; strengthening Hong Kong's economic and trade ties with the Mainland; promoting Hong Kong and encouraging and attracting investments to Hong Kong. The Beijing Office and Guangdong ETO have their own Immigration. Divisions which provide practical assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress or seeking assistance in the Mainland and handle immigration matters. A Shenzhen Liaison Unit under the Guangdong ETO has been in operation since August 2010 to enhance co-operation with Shenzhen. The unit also provides assistance to Hong Kong enterprises in Shenzhen. In 2011, preparations were in hand to establish a Chongqing Liaison Unit and a Fujian Liaison Unit under the Chengdu ETO and Guangdong ETO to deepen our co-operation with the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone and the Economic Zone on the West Coast of the Taiwan Strait respectively, and to explore new business opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises. For details of the promotional activities organised by the Beijing Office and the three ETOS in the Mainland, please refer to Chapter 17 (Communications, the Media and Information Technology: section on Promoting Hong Kong Worldwide).
Exchanges with Taiwan
Hong Kong and Taiwan have close economic and cultural ties. Taiwan is Hong Kong's fourth largest trading partner. In 2011, bilateral trade amounted to $326.2 billion (around US$41.9 billion), and around 2.15 million people from Taiwan visited Hong Kong.
Since the establishment of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) and its Taiwanese counterpart, Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (THEC), the HKSAR has continued to promote exchanges and enhance co-operation with Taiwan through the ECCPC-THEC platform.
2011 was an important year for Hong Kong's exchanges with Taiwan. Further to the opening of the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Taipei Office in September 2011, the multi-functional Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (HKETCO) commenced operation in Taiwan on December 19, 2011. The establishment of the HKETCO has laid a firm basis for the long-term development of closer economic and cultural relations between Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Apart from the opening of the offices, considerable outcomes were achieved through the ECCPC-THEC platform on other fronts.
4
The Beijing Office covers Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Tibet. The Guangdong ETO covers Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. The Shanghai ETO covers Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Shanghai. The Chengdu ETO covers Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Hunan and Chongqing.