Hong Kong anti-parallel trading activists plan fresh New Territories rally
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 17 March, 2015, 4:23pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 18 March, 2015, 5:39am
Lai Ying-kit [email protected]
Scenes like this may be seen again in Sheung Shui on Sunday. Photo: David Wong
Yet another protest against mainland shoppers and parallel traders is planned for Sunday, as cross-border tensions show no sign of easing.
Organisers expect at least 100 people to rally this weekend in the border town of Sheung Shui, saying parallel trading activities - buying of goods in Hong Kong for resale on the mainland - had not decreased following four demonstrations in the New Territories in recent weeks.
The previous rallies have seen chaotic scenes, with protesters kicking at luggage carried by people they suspected to be parallel traders and verbally insulting a mother and her daughter in Tuen Mun more than a week ago.
The North District Parallel Imports Concern Group, the organiser of Sunday's rally, said on its Facebook page that members were taking to the streets after parallel trading worsened, spreading from Sheung Shui to other areas.
"We fail to see any resolution by the [Hong Kong] government in dealing with the issue of parallel trading," the group said.
The organiser urged residents planning to join Sunday's event not to shout any slogans or raise any political demands other than about parallel trading.
The group's spokesman, Leung Kam-shing, said Sunday's protest might see verbal insults against parallel traders, but organisers would intervene to stop such actions.
He added that they would apply for police approval for the rally.
Sunday's planned action follows a series of protests in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin aimed at traders from the mainland, some of which have turned violent with police using pepper spray.
The latest rally on March 8 saw few problems when it first started in Sheung Shui in the afternoon, but trouble flared after protesters travelled to Tuen Mun and marched into malls where mainland people were shopping. Some protesters rushed into a jewellery shop in a mall and shouted at customers.
A similar protest against parallel trading hit Tuen Mun last month, with shops being forced to close. A week later, 100 protesters clashed with police when they protested at the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin.
