HK protesters target influx of mainland traders
Police arrest 33 after crowd turns unruly
HONG KONG: Police arrested nearly three dozen people on Sunday after scuffles broke out in the latest protest in Hong Kong against the growing influx of mainland Chinese shoppers.
Police officers drew batons and used pepper spray on the crowds after the demonstration in a border town turned unruly. The protesters clashed with crowds of residents opposed to the event who taunted them along the route.
Police said 33 people were arrested including a 13-year-old boy.
Hundreds turned out for the third major protest in the past month to target the mainland shoppers, who have been blamed for voracious buying habits that distort the local economy.
The protesters marched in the suburban district of Yuen Long, near the border with China. The route went through a neighbourhood with dozens of pharmacies selling imported baby formula to cater to mainland shoppers. Chinese shun domestic brands after repeated food safety scares including a 2008 melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six babies.
Baby formula is such a hot commodity for mainland visitors that Hong Kong, which has a reputation for authentic and high-quality goods, restricts the amount people can take out of the city.
Smartphones, cosmetics, medicine and luxury goods are also popular purchases in Hong Kong, where a lack of sales tax makes them cheaper. The shoppers, usually seen in big groups with wheelie suitcases, often work for shadowy networks that organise the resale of the goods across the border for a profit, in what’s known as parallel trading.
“There is a lot of anger from other people on Chinese smugglers because we just don’t like how they drive up all the prices, drive up everything, create a lot of chaos, and we aren’t benefiting from it,’’ said protester Kelvin Lee, who was with Hong Kong Indigenous, one of two groups that organised the demonstration.
The Yuen Long demonstration follows two other rowdy protests at shopping malls in other parts of Hong Kong’s northern suburbs last month. Police also drew batons and unleashed pepper spray against protesters heckling Chinese shoppers at those demonstrations, arresting a total of 19 people.
The protests reflect resentment among Hong Kongers against swelling ranks of mainland Chinese visitors.
Last year, 47.3 million mainlanders visited the specially administered region, up 16% from the year before. Mainland visitors are estimated to be responsible for a third of retail sales in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government says it is trying to clamp down on parallel trading but the activity is hard to detect. Authorities say more than 1,900 mainlanders have been arrested in the past two years on suspicion of being involved while 25,000 others have been banned from entering the city for the same reason.