Hong Kong security chief says anti-mainland trader protests akin to riots
PUBLISHED : Monday, 09 March, 2015, 5:05pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 10 March, 2015, 4:25am
Phila Siu, Clifford Lo and Tony Cheung in Beijing
Lai Tung-kwok condemned the behaviour. Photo: Felix Wong
Hong Kong's security secretary and politicians on opposing sides joined in criticising the rallies against mainland-based parallel-goods traders that turned violent on Sunday, with the secretary condemning protesters' behaviour "in the strongest terms".
Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok also said yesterday that the protesters' actions were "close to that of rioters".
His remarks came as a police source said hundreds of officers were expected to be deployed to Government House on Sunday, as users of the HKGolden online forum discussed holding another protest at the venue when it is open to the public.
The protesters on Sunday "insulted, hit and kicked passers-by, checked the goods they were carrying and stopped buses from operating normally," Lai said. "They have abused their freedom of expression."
On Sunday, protesters gathered in Sheung Shui first, then Tuen Mun and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Video posted online showed them insulting a mother and her young daughter who were carrying luggage in Tuen Mun.
The mother, speaking in Cantonese, opened her luggage to show that she was only carrying children's books. The mother accused the protesters of bullying, as her apparently frightened daughter began to cry loudly.
An elderly man who said he was a Hongkonger was seen being pushed to the ground as he wheeled a trolley through a crowd of protesters after playing music with friends in a Tuen Mun Park.
Former security secretary Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong criticised the protesters as "uncivilised".
But Lee, a National People's Congress deputy who spoke in Beijing, also questioned why customs officials in Shenzhen had not been taxing parallel traders for the goods they brought across from Hong Kong.
"I think in Zhuhai , sometimes their customs officers would tax parallel traders if they were bringing plenty of goods from Macau … but [customs] seem more lenient in Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau," Lee said.
Police arrest a protester during the anti-parallel trading rally outside Tuen Mun West Railway MTR station on Sunday. Photo: Felix Wong
Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of the Tourism Board, met the National Tourism Administration's chief Li Jinzao yesterday. He said Li was very concerned about the issue.
"He hoped to study it calmly [with] the Hong Kong government and come up with a solution to strike a balance."
Lawmakers from the Democratic Party to the pro-government New People's Party and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, all criticised the violence.
Meanwhile, a police source said luggage, bulky bags and banners with pro-democracy messages on them would not be allowed inside Government House on Sunday. Some online had said they would dress like traders and deposit commonly traded items such as baby milk formula on the floor, blocking access.
