The Frontier Closed Area (FCA) (Chinese

Traditional Chinese character

Traditional Chinese characters refers to Chinese characters in any character set which does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. It most commonly refers to characters in the standardized character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong, or in the Kangxi...

: 邊境禁區) is a 28 km² area in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 along the border with mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

. It was gazette

Gazette

A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...

d and established in June 1951, and expanded to its current limit in 1962. Ordinary people who are not residents within the area cannot enter the area, except with a permit or when they are going to cross the border.

Along most of the border are wired fencing on both sides on the land and along the Shenzhen River.

It was set up to halt incoming of immigrants from mainland China, and to restrict illegal activities. It freezes development within the area. Due to the lack of human activities in the area, the FCA became a natural habitat for Hong Kong's animals and plants.

For those who are neither residents within the Closed Area, nor crossing the border, a Closed Area Permit is required. Applications for a Closed Area Permit outside the Closed Area are available at the Sheung Shui Police Station in Fanling

Fanling

Fanling , also known as Fan Ling and Fan Leng, is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District...

.

The FCA includes Lo Wu Station and Lok Ma Chau Station on the East Rail Line.

Reduction proposal

On September 7, 2006, the Government has announced its proposal to reduce the size of the area to 8 km². Only areas around border control points will be kept in the FCA.

The proposal was made possible by constructing a secondary boundary fence along the border patrol road, so that the security of the road can be maintained without designating large areas of FCA. The Planning Department will start a planning study on the areas removed from the FCA. The proposal will be implemented in 2010, after the new fence is completed. Members of the public will no longer need to obtain an FCA permit to enter the excluded areas.

Initially, most residents generally welcomed the plan. However, some environmentalists have pointed out that the proposal would affect ecology in the excluded area.

External links

• Land Use Planning for the Closed Area – HK government site, shows maps of the Closed Area.