Hong Kong arrests 38 people in protests over mainland Chinese shoppers

Hong Kong police said on Monday that they arrested 38 people after a group of about 400 demonstrators clashed with police during protests on Sunday, in the latest sign of tension caused by China's influence in the city.

The demonstration mirrored others in recent weeks targeting mainland Chinese visitors.

The protests have tapped a seam of resentment against China, resulting in calls for greater Hong Kong nationalism and even independence, nearly three months after police cleared away the last of the city's pro-democracy street protests.

Protesters in Yuen Long, in the New Territories just a stone's throw from mainland China, chanted "Cancel the multiple-entry permit," and "Topple the Chinese Communist Party," as they complained about so-called parallel traders, who make profits by selling goods bought in Hong Kong across the border.

Demonstrators used garbage bins to block the main street in the area, halting traffic. Police used pepper spray to deter some people. One female protester was bleeding from the nose as police dragged her away from the scene.

On Monday afternoon, a police spokesman said a total of 38 people aged 13 to 74 had been arrested for offences ranging from the possession of offensive weapons to assault and disorder.

The protesters marched in the suburban district of Yuen Long, near the border with China. The route went through a neighborhood with dozens of pharmacies selling imported baby formula to cater to mainland shoppers. Many mainland Chinese shun their locally produced brands after repeated food safety scares, including a 2008 case in which melamine-tainted milk killed at least six babies.

Baby formula is such a hot commodity for mainland visitors that Hong Kong, which has a reputation for authentic and high-quality goods, restricts the amount that people can take out of the city.

Smartphones, cosmetics, medicine and luxury goods are also popular purchases in Hong Kong, where a lack of sales tax makes them cheaper. The shoppers, usually seen in big groups with wheeled suitcases, often work for shadowy networks that organize the resale of the goods across the border for a profit, in what's known as parallel trading.

"We can't walk, because all their goods pile up like mountains on the streets," said one of the protesters, King Lee, a 23-year-old Yuen Long resident. "We should not endure this silently."

The Sunday protests also fanned the discontent of other residents unhappy with the disruption to their daily routine.

"Why are there so many mainlanders shopping in Hong Kong? It's because our products are good," said another resident of the area, Tom Lau, 50, who jeered at the protesters. "Why oppose them (the shoppers)? They are just protesting for the sake of protesting. They are just stirring up trouble. They march with the colonial flag, but we are Chinese people."

Wire services