On the 17th, the Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Chen Guoji, presided over a cross departmental working group meeting on festival arrangements, comprehensively coordinating and supervising various government departments to prepare for the reception of visiting tourists during the New Year holiday. Chen Guoji said that starting from New Year's Day, there will be a three-day holiday in mainland China, and Hong Kong will hold a series of activities during the holiday. It is expected that there will be a significant increase in visitors to Hong Kong. The SAR government will do a good job in preparing for the reception of visitors to Hong Kong, including actively coordinating and coordinating ports and transportation facilities, maintaining close contact with relevant institutions and the tourism industry, managing pedestrian flow, information dissemination, public transportation, and arranging various ports, ensuring smooth and efficient operation of all reception facilities, and providing high-quality experiences for visitors to Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Service, the fireworks display will be cancelled for this year's New Year's Eve event in Hong Kong. In response to the New Year countdown event, the Special Administrative Region Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government have discussed extending the service hours at the New Year's checkpoint. The Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge Port and the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port will clear customs 24 hours as usual during the New Year's Eve meeting. It is reported that Hong Kong's port departments have reduced the leave of frontline personnel in order to flexibly allocate manpower, and opened inspection counters, temporary counters, and passages to ease the flow of people and vehicles. The cross departmental joint command center composed of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Police Force, Immigration Department, Customs and related departments will be launched from December 31, 2025 to January 4, 2026, to monitor the port situation in real time and maintain close contact with mainland port departments through established port hotlines and instant notification mechanisms to ensure smooth port operations. (New Society)