HK toilet tussle drains relations

A screenshot from Youku shows the toddler urinating on a street in Hong Kong.

Screenshot of the video

A mainland couple visiting Hong Kong were trying to find a public toilet for their child but failed to locate one so the toddler just relieved himself on the street while his mother used a paper nappy to clean up the mess.

A local young man tried to stop them while taking photos of the toddler from close up, which led to a clash and the mainland couple ended up being arrested.

This incident has an implication for both mainlanders and the people of Hong Kong people: the young couple's behavior was obviously indecent although children might be excused when nature calls, and the Hong Kong man was thought to be taking indecent photos, which was ignored by the police and commentators in Hong Kong, including some big media names.

And, from a wider perspective, the incident has obviously pointed to some mounting tensions between mainlanders and Hong Kong people, something that is really unnecessary and harmful to cooperation.

As the number of people from the mainland visiting Hong Kong ballooned over the past couple of years, as a result of new tourism policies, Hong Kong was not quite prepared in the way of public facilities to deal with it. Many locals have felt that their daily lives are seriously affected by the mainland tourists, and anti-mainland sentiments have grown.

It is easy to see that many ordinary people are not aware of the possible benefits of a growth in tourism, especially after the two signed a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement and related policies. And it's easy to see why they might be annoyed by the inconvenience of people coming from outside, while some local media reports have only fanned the flames.

Meanwhile, many mainlanders criticize them of "civilized rudeness", as typified by the young man's improper photo-taking, and are even going so far as to ask the government to stop its favorable economic policies for the region.

Hong Kong has been a unique "super connector" for the mainland through its economic and other activities and exchanges with the rest of the world, a role which simply reinforces Hong Kong's global position as a finance and trade hub.

And, of course, the mainland was already benefitting massively from the region in its bridging role, long before the reform and opening-up of the late '70s, and, in recent years has learned an awful lot from it, especially as it improves its social and economic situation.

So, relations that are mutually beneficial need to be strengthened, not weakened, in this already turbulent world and should not be derailed by some childish by-directional finger-pointing or discrimination.

After all, mainlanders and the people of Hong Kong are both Chinese and have no reason to stop the cooperation and, when they truly work together, they can face many challenges in a unified way, much better than could be achieved on their own.

The most demonstrative example of this was the 1997-98 period of cooperation during Asia's financial turmoil, when they faced down international finance moguls and their attempts at speculation.

Some East Asian countries easily fell prey to the bullying of international capitalists and Hong Kong had a very rough time at first, according to some officials who experienced the crisis, before support from the central government turned the tide and Hong Kong sailed on peacefully.

And mainlanders can hardly forget how the two dealt with the lethal bird flu virus together in 2003, when Hong Kong's experience in controlling the disease served as a valuable reference point for the mainland. So, obviously, when they join hands and work together, they get stronger.

There are still many uncertainties in the global economic recovery and there could be yet newer crises bubbling out there somewhere, so it is all the more sensible for the two to cooperate more in preparing for stormy clouds in the future. And, it is especially important for people in the two places to keep a check on any bad feelings about each other.