Unsettled nerves strained by prospect of mainlanders driving in HK(2)

Hong Kong had over 28 million mainland Chinese tourists in 2011, around four times the population of the city. Mainland tourists seem to be on the hunt for everything from baby formula to hospital beds, and luxury brands to high-end apartments. Money spent by mainland tourists in Hong Kong is becoming a pillar for the city's service-industry oriented economy.

Hong Kong's transport minister Eva Cheng Yu-wah repeated yesterday that the government is being cautious while finalizing details of the cross-boundary car program and that it will bring more mainland tourists to Hong Kong and boost the local economy.

Despite her efforts to comfort weary locals, phase 2 of the cross-boundary private car program is in limbo. Transportation officials refuse to give a timeline on when phase 2 will be launched due to mounting pressure. The Democratic Party of Hong Kong said Tuesday it will push a motion at the Legislative Council to block the new program.

Thorny dilemma

The tension between local Hong Kong residents and mainland tourists escalated after Kong Qingdong, a Peking University professor, described Hong Kong residents as "the running dogs of the British government" on television in early January. The comment was followed by an online video clip of locals scolding a group of mainland visitors for eating on the MTR - which is prohibited according to subway regulations.

Clement Tai, a Hong Kong-based columnist who writes about cross-border social issues, told the Global Times the dilemma between economic benefits from mainland tourists and protecting local cultural and identity is deeply rooted among Hong Kong residents.

"On a macro level, Hong Kong people understand that the city's life-line depends on the central government policies and the cash rolling in from the pockets of mainland tourists," he said. "But when it comes to a personal level, Hong Kong people despise the ways mainland tourists have broken rules in their hometown."

Tai added that the sentiments Hong Kong people have against mainlanders are also deep.

"Hong Kong people, for many reasons, hold on to the identity of being under British rule," he said. "Hong Kongers now see themselves as a group of aggrieved people fighting for their own survival space."

Chung Kam-churn, a politics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times Hong Kong people must control their negative attitude towards mainlanders.

"Economic ties with the Chinese mainland are both inevitable and necessary for the city's sustainable development," he said. "The interactions between the two sides are only going to grow."

He added that the government should play a part in assuring Hong Kong people that the benefits of local residents will be a priority and protected.