Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    ON Feb. 24, Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said that the Hong Kong government was looking to restrict the number of mainland tourists entering the city, following constant public backlash over the influx of mainland visitors, especially parallel traders.

    Leung said the growing number of mainland visitors has “put pressure on the everyday life of Hong Kong residents,” adding that he would talk with the central authorities during the annual session of the National People’s Congress this month over the possibility of tightening the “free tour” program, which allows individual mainlanders to visit Hong Kong without joining a tour group.

    As a Shenzhen resident, I understand Leung’s concern about “the pressure on the everyday life of Hong Kong residents.” Since my home is near the Shenzhen Bay Port, I frequently witness armies of parallel traders swarming through the border with bags packed with such items as milk powder, diapers and chocolate. I can imagine local residents’ anger when their daily life is severely disturbed by tens of thousands of shoppers stocking up on everything. In the housing estate where I live, a group of traders meet every afternoon, collecting the purchased items and selling them to a shop owner. They are living off trading Hong Kong merchandise!

    The “free tour” policy started in July 2003 when Hong Kong’s economy was devastated by SARS. At the request of the then Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa, the Central Government unveiled the program, under which residents of 49 mainland cities could apply for a one-week permit to visit Hong Kong as individual visitors.

    To further support Hong Kong’s development, the Central Government adopted a new policy on April 1, 2009, which allowed residents with a Shenzhen hukou, or registered permanent residence, to apply for a multi-entry travel permit to visit Hong Kong for unlimited times.

    With the “free tour” program, the number of mainland visitors has been steadily rising. In 2014, about 55 million people visited Hong Kong.

    The policy has helped the recovery of Hong Kong’s economy and boosted employment. The tourism, catering and retail industries are booming. Statistics show that retail sales had doubled by the end of June 2014. It’s estimated that at least 1 million people are working in “free-tour”-related businesses.

    Yet every coin has two sides. The well-meant policy has turned sour, partly due to China’s huge population. Only a small fraction of 1.4 billion mainlanders is already too much for the 7-million-person metropolis to handle.

    The soaring number of traders has made local residents discontented and angry. There have been numerous protests, some of which have led to violent clashes. Some radical protesters besiege mainland shoppers, telling them to “go home.”

    Negative sentiments led to a drop in mainland visitors during this Chinese New Year holiday, the first decline in 20 years, according to media reports.

    Local businesses call the drop “alarming” and worry that further unfriendly moves could scare away mainland visitors, eventually hurting Hong Kong’s economy.

    Many mainland residents have expressed their disappointment with the recent situation in Hong Kong. One post online said, “When Hong Kong was in need of help from the mainland, we did everything possible to help. But when the help was no longer needed, we became unwelcome.”

    However, both sides need to understand one important fact: nothing is free — everything has a price and limitations.

    Hong Kong has been honored as one of the world’s freest economies, but the pressure from too many visitors will force it to sacrifice some freedom for some “plan.”

    In the past, the outside world criticized China for the planned economy and restrictions on people’s freedom. Now China has become a country with a free market economy and its people have freedom to travel anywhere they like. But Chinese tourists have found that their freedom is limited in many places around the world. More and more places are taking “planned” measures to restrict them because the influx of millions of Chinese tourists could paralyze them. Ironic, isn’t it?

    The world may have to alter the definitions of many doctrines to accommodate the new development of China.

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)