CHINESE officials have shown no willingness to compromise in the face of demands for free elections for the post of chief executive in Hong Kong, despite weeks of demonstrations late last year by residents demanding them. But on April 13th the country’s state-controlled media announced a concession to those involved in a subsequent series of protests over the problem of “parallel trading”: trips by mainlanders into Hong Kong for the purpose of buying up goods for resale back across the border. Under a new policy, residents of the neighbouring mainland city of Shenzhen will not be allowed to visit Hong Kong as often using the multi-entry visas favoured by such shoppers.
Hong Kong’s current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, whose dogged support for China’s intransigent stance on political reform in the territory has won him few supporters, has sought to boost his popularity by heeding the complaints of those angered by the large numbers of mainland shoppers who, many Hong Kongers complain, strip shelves of daily necessities and clog public transport. Mr Leung once defended the “parallel traders” as doing nothing illegal. In March, however, he visited Beijing where he sought the help of central-government officials in stemming the influx. Now Shenzhen residents will be issued with multi-entry visas that restrict them to one visit a week instead of...Continue reading
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