Hong Kong (dpa) – A group of Hong Kong residents Wednesday took out a newspaper advertisement calling mainland Chinese visitors “locusts” in an escalating cross-border war of words. The full-page advert in the mass-circulation Apple Daily called on the Hong Kong government to halt the “infiltration” of the wealthy city by people from mainland China, saying: “We have had enough.” Carrying an image of a giant locust overlooking Hong Kong, the advert demanded the government put a stop to the “unlimited” flow of Chinese people into the former British colony. The advert was paid for by donations to an online group campaigning against the policy of allowing increasing numbers of mainland Chinese visitors into the city of 7.1 million. The advert appeared after a Beijing academic in a TV interview called Hong Kong people “bastards,” “thieves” and “dogs” for insulting mainland Chinese visitors. Hong Kong people are particularly vexed by the tens of thousands of pregnant mainland women who cross the border every year to give birth in Hong Kong, putting a huge strain on public hospitals. More than 1,000 people protested outside a Dolce & Gabbana shop in January when the fashion store banned locals from taking pictures outside, telling them only mainland Chinese visitors could do so. Later, a video of a group of Hong Kong people angrily berating a mainland Chinese family for eating on the city's underground train network where food is banned went viral. Mainland Chinese visitors accounted for 28 million of the 42 million visitors to Hong Kong in 2011. Their numbers have risen sharply since cross-border travel rules were eased from 2003. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ac7n7 Tags: Ad, China, Hong Kong, Locusts Section: East Asia, Latest News, Media
