3 arrests as anger over HK shopping ends in scuffles
Print Edition
AT least three people were arrested after a group of about 400 people in Hong Kong clashed with police yesterday.
Officers used pepper spray to break up scuffles between protesters demonstrating against shoppers from China’s mainland and villagers from a border town.
The unruly demonstration was the latest to target shoppers from the mainland, with some Hong Kong residents becoming angry at border-crossing traders they say have disrupted their daily lives and clogged public transport.
Two activist groups and their supporters marched through the suburban district of Yuen Long, where there are dozens of pharmacies selling baby formula to cater to shoppers from the mainland.
Protesters chanted to “cancel the multiple-entry permit” as they complained against so-called parallel traders.
The traders typically travel to Hong Kong by train and stock up on everything from iPads to milk powder, taking advantage of lower prices, a wider choice and better quality in the city while dodging hefty tariffs on their return.
Demonstrators blocked the area’s main street with garbage bins, bringing traffic to a halt.
“We can’t walk, because all their goods pile up like mountains on the streets,” said King Lee, a 23-year-old local resident who was taking part in the protest.
Scuffles broke out after crowds of village residents opposed to the protest taunted demonstrators along the route.
Police used pepper spray and took several people away.
Many shopkeepers rolled down their storefront shutters ahead of the protest and few mainland visitors were seen on the streets.
There have been at least two other shopping protests in Hong Kong’s suburban towns this year, including one last month inside a shopping mall.
Still, yesterday’s protests also fanned discontent from Hong Kong residents unhappy with the disruption to their daily routine.
“Why are there so many mainlanders shopping in Hong Kong? It’s because our products are good,” said Tom Lau, a 50-year-old kitchen worker.
Lau jeered at protesters.
“Why oppose them (the shoppers)? They are just protesting for the sake of protesting. They are just stirring up trouble. They march with the colonial flag, but we are Chinese people.”
Earlier last week Hong Kong‘s leader said that the government was considering restricting the number of mainland tourists entering the city, following the public backlash.
The announcement came after a leading travel body said that the number of mainland visitors over the Lunar New Year had fallen for the first time in almost 20 years —- attributing the trend to the frosty reception they receive.
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