Usually there are no extra security checks on the artificial island -- which lies within China's mainland jurisdiction Online Cigarettes Store USA -- and vehicles pass straight through.
But a checkpoint appeared earlier this month as Macau prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary Newport Cigarettes Shop of its handover to China next Friday -- an event President Xi Jinping will attend.
AFP reporters passed through the checkpoint last Wednesday.
It was manned by dozens of heavily armed SWAT officers, and bus passengers had their luggage, faces and identity documents screened.Escalating protests this year have led to about $5 billion being pulled from investment funds in Hong Kong -- raising the risk that strain in the Asian financial hub could spread to other parts of the world, according to the Bank of England’s latest financial stability report.
That figure, equivalent to about 1.25% of the former British colony’s gross domestic product, amounts to a “significant” outlow, the BOE said.
“The protests, and their impact on the real economy, highlight political risk as a key vulnerability in Hong Kong,” the BOE said. “And these political tensions pose risks, given Hong Kong’s position as a major financial centre.”
HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, among the biggest foreign-based lenders in Hong Kong Cheap Newport 100s cigarettes , have said that they have seen wealthy customers in the city opening overseas bank accounts as fears have grown since pro-democracy protests began.