The Shadow Channels of Cross-Border Mobility — On the Institutional Drivers and Collaborative Governance Challenges of the ‘Fake Flight’ Phenomenon in the Greater Bay Area

Abstract

Within the integration process of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, policies facilitating personnel mobility have fostered regional cohesion while simultaneously giving rise to anomalous cross-border movement phenomena exemplified by ‘fake flights’. From a legal perspective, this paper defines ‘fake flights’ as a ‘shadow channel’ for systematic legal circumvention exploiting institutional disparities. Research reveals that the emergence of ‘fake flights’ stems from three institutional drivers: ‘policy depressions’ created by regulatory divergences, ‘regulatory gaps’ arising from information barriers, and ‘illegal incentives’ generated by cost-benefit imbalances. Cooperative governance in the Greater Bay Area faces structural challenges including disjointed legal frameworks, ineffective enforcement collaboration mechanisms, and difficulties in data sharing and evidence recognition. Drawing on regional governance experiences from the European Union and the United States, this paper proposes adopting a governance paradigm centred on ‘risk anticipation, data-driven approaches, and shared responsibility.’ This approach would establish a governance system integrating rule coordination, mechanism optimisation, and technological empowerment, thereby advancing the Greater Bay Area's governance model from ‘plugging loopholes’ to ‘building resilience.’