Hong Kong Netizens Condemn China for Expanding Individual Visit Scheme

Hong Kong netizens are extremely furious that the Chinese government expands Individual Visit Scheme to 4.1 million non-permanent resident of Shenzhen on September 1st.

According to SCMP, (screen capture)

Hong Kong’s doors will be open for regular visits by 4.1 million non-permanent residents of Shenzhen from next month – despite the concerns of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying that the city will struggle to cope with more mainland visitors.

The announcement by Shenzhen authorities that multiple-entry permits will be available to millions of residents of the border city who do not hold hukou, or household registration documents, there prompted new concerns that Hong Kong’s infrastructure would be overwhelmed and that visitors would compete with locals for resources.

According to the editorial of Mingpao on 2012.8.29,

內地宣布6個城市非戶籍居民來港旅遊毋須回原居地辦證，特別是深圳410萬非戶籍居民可以辦理「一簽多行」，使內地潛在來港旅客，一下子多了約1400萬人。

Mainland China announced that non-Hukou residents don’t need to return to their birthplaces to apply for permits, especially for 4.1 millions non-Hukou residents of Shenzhen, who can apply for multiple-entry permits. This makes potential Hong Kong tourists suddenly bursts to 14 millions.

Netizens’ Reactions

Overpopulated

annaannawaifan: Hong Kong already has too many people that the air becomes breathless. In the future, there will be no place to stand.

Anonymous: I still remember the Hong Kong of ten-odd years ago. There were very few people on the street in the morning. I could even sing “the morning is so fresh and cheerful” while rambling around. It is no long like that now. Even in the morning, the air is thick with dust. Needless to say, in daytime, I have to squeeze through people. Whenever I move, I can touch someone else. Mong Kok and Causeway Bay are disaster areas. When I go there, I almost can’t breath, no joke. People who have respiratory problem, pregnant women, elderly and children should not go there.

豪龍: I don’t against Individual Visit Scheme. However, the policy should not be overdone. Hong Kong isn’t that big. How can Hong Kong accommodate that much people! Even there is no space for local. Does it mean that Hongkongers stay at home and Mainlanders do shopping on the street, doesn’t it? Rubbish government!

Seriously Affects Daily Life

Very important note: Majority of Hongkongers do not own cars because this small city has good public transport system. Every day, Hongkongers spend several hours on public transport.

惹愚: In order to avoid tourists on sidewalks, many people have to walk on roads…

sbhk: F***! Now, Hong Kong is so crowded now. Besides crowding up all shopping malls in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay (Now I avoid these places at all costs), these bastards love taking MTR (Mass Transit Railway) during rush hour. They also bring their luggage with them, f***!

Health: Hong Kong will only become more and more chaotic. Now, I always see fighting and arguments inside MTR. My feet are always ran over by luggage.

Aggie: Can they stop coming….It is so crowded during rush hour. Besides, (tourists of) Individual Travel Scheme use luggage and bags to occupy the whole train compartments. Even when I go to Mannings (a pharmacy) to buy shampoo, I have to compete with (tourists of) Individual Travel Scheme. When I eat out, I have to compete for seats. Individual Travel Scheme has completely affected the basic daily needs of us Hong Kong citizens. We have had enough…

可悠悠: What the…HK has already became so crowded that people can’t take public transport…Can they split into groups? Hong Kong is going to sink!

Ric: I take MTR to go to work in Admiralty and I used to take exit B (that is the bus terminal for Ocean Park). Now I have to take other exits because exit B is occupied by them…Now, even let more people come…Sigh! Business owners get rich while we employees suffer! The price of everything inflates, inflates and inflates…

來打醬油的某A: Do Hongkonger need to live? Now, (tourists of) Individual Visit Scheme have started to establish presence in Kwun Tong, Prince Edward and even remote place like Tsung Kwan O, The survival space of local people is going to be disappeared. Everyday, when I walk on the street, I afraid that I will get in a fight with (tourists of) Individual Visist Scheme. In shopping malls, I have to face the situation that when I am being jumped queue I can’t criticise. Do the Hong Kong government have to receive whom the Mainland approved? Isn’t it a rape of our living quality?

Mann: I do not discriminate Mainland compatriots. However, Individual Visist Scheme now has seriously affected the daily life of Hongkonger. If the scheme expands, Hongkongers and public facilities can’t really support it anymore. Besides, price index, housing price, public expenditure etc will be bound to shoot up. And this will deepen conflict between Hongkongers and Mainlanders. CY Leung should handle it seriously, otherwise there will be protests. Hong Kong is about to become a place not for Hongkongers. It is going to be a city just for people to go in and out.

Lui: <If you are a Hongkonger, please share> The number of Individual Visit Scheme (tourists) is 6 times of Hong Kong population. Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui have already been “ceded” to them. Now, increase the number of Individual Visit Scheme again? 10M more people and multiple-entry permits? Freaking crazy! Hong Kong is occupied!!! As a city, she can’t control the influx population, useless government! The never-ending increase of Individual Visit Scheme tourists has already seriously affected the daily life and welfare of local residents.

A netizen lists 10 adverse effects of Individual Visit Scheme

  1. Rents shoot up. Small business disappears.
  2. Pharmacy, jewelery and chain stores monopolise the market.
  3. City centers are overcrowded. Hongkongers avoid these places.
  4. The quality of guests is uneven and it taints the city appearance.
  5. The flooding of Mainland Chinese tourists repels foreign guests.
  6. Smugglers seriously affect residents.
  7. Low-tech industry doesn’t help economic transformation.
  8. Welcome guests with simplified Chinese. Destroy culture.
  9. Customs overloaded. Taxpayers’ burden.
  10. Undocumented workers and prostitutes never stop coming.

Worry of Non-Hukou Population

DucklingYau: At least Hong Kong public hospitals will collapse completely. The economy status of non-hukou residents is not that good. If they have serious illness, they will certainly rush to Hong Kong emergency rooms.

SNSD: Let migrant workers to come to Hong Kong? Coming to work illegally more than shopping

Sad.H.K: Hong Kong Catastrophe: inflation, health care system overloaded, free to get medical treatments and give birth in Hong Kong. The grassroots of Hong Kong will certainly be in very big trouble.

Puppet Government and Beijing’s Ill Intentions

Orange: As a Hongkonger, seeing my government even surrender Hong Kong permit approval to China, it is really disappointing.

一個普通市民: During election, CY Leung said Individual Visit Scheme would not be expanded. Why do more people are allowed to come down?

Ling Ling: Double negatives problem (anchor babies) hasn’t even been solved and then Individual Visit Scheme is expanded. Mainland China really wants Hong Kong to doom faster. The opinion of Hongkongers is not consulted. The doomsday of Hong Kong has arrived.

★敗家★: Mainland China wants the death of Hong Kong…therefore they use locusts to invade.

Pak Ho: Beijing just want to integrate Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Max: Beijing wants Hong Kong to become a normal Mainland city. Mainland China doesn’t want to use the special environment of Hong Kong to change their internal political system. The pearl of oriental has already died. Angry, helpless and heartbroken.

Ku: Colonialism..

Fiona: It will be more than 4 millions because (migrant workers) of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin etc are not counted and they will rush to Hong Kong. Basically, this is a plot of the Communist Party, colonising Hong Kong with Mainlanders or Mainland locusts as fast as possible.

Electric Fan: Compatriots? I don’t treat Chinese colonists as compatriots. They are in fact invaders.

MOD1: China just wants to replace us with Mainlanders. If we don’t against it… in the future, we local born and raised “Hongkongers” are going to be an ethnic minority…

The Anger

Venus: Actually… Do Mainland China and Hong Kong governments want to oppress Hongkongers to the state that blood sheds like Indonesian anti-Chinese incident happen so that they will finally be peaceful and happy?

Who says that there are only 4.1 millions of non-hukou residents eligible for Individual Visit Scheme?

Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing

The number of non-hukou residents of the above 6 cities is 36.95 millions in total. And they can apply for multiple-entry permit to Hong Kong.

Chui: They come to occupy Hong Kong. Beijing uses its colonists to repel Hongkongers, sinicising Hong Kong. In the end, completely integrate, no longer one country two systems.

21 thoughts on “Hong Kong Netizens Condemn China for Expanding Individual Visit Scheme”

  1. DOES CHINA WANT TO SUFFOCATE HONG KONG????

    So this is the thanks Hong Kong get’s after defending China dignity on this island issue with Japan, the reward we get is having 1/5 of our land chopped away and enduring 3x the numbers of tourist. Just how the hell can Hong Kong manage all these millions of tourist when it’s so damn crowded.

    If all this really does happens, I will hate these communist mainland shit for the rest of my life. I will also like to encourage all Hong Kong people to keep protest and insult China and Chinese nationals, and defend Japan, Vietnam, Philippines.

  2. I’ve just recently returned back to the US from Hong Kong, after studying there for over three months, and I must say that the Mainland Chinese are really causing havoc over there.

    Firstly, the sheer number of them. A few years ago areas like Mongkok and CWB were crowded already, but now it is nearly impossible to walk, not only because of the incredibly large amount of Mainlanders, but because they all drag full size suitcases behind them wherever they go. This is very inconsiderate because it takes up all the the walking space on the sidewalk. Also, Mainlanders do not obey any rules in Hong Kong. I see people constantly eating and throwing trash on the MTR east rail, as well as people shoving in front of me in the queue to get on the train.

    Sheung Seui is the worst! I had to travel there for an appointment and I felt like I was in the middle of China, people were laying on the floor, shoving into the train, the bathrooms were overflowed with excrement, and etc. It might as well be considered China in the future. I’m not trying to say that all of China is bad, but these tourists are really ill-mannered. They are choking Hong Kong’s resources as well as making China look negative as a whole. More steps need to be put into place that educated these guests about the rules of Hong Kong, and they if they are not obeyed they will be barred from returning to Hong Kong for life. Also, there has to be a limit on the daily number of tourists allowed in Hong Kong each day. I find myself having to sit in the first class compartment because the MTR is so overcrowded and smelly.

    Lastly, these Mainland Chinese make Hong Kong look bad as a whole because non-locals will see them and think that they are Hong Kongers. I don’t know about you, but I feel very sad to see this once great city being used and abused because the government is not strong enough to enforce some rules on who it lets into the country. The price of goods since the last time I went to HK (2 years ago) is nearly 20% more, and I need to queue up nearly twice as long and twice as much. Forget about going to Disneyland, Ocean park, The Peak Tram, or nearly any other tourist attraction. The queue is ridiculous. I would have had to wait nearly two hours to take the peak tram at 9pm on a weekday. Instead, I took a taxi, which I would have never done before. Anyway, these are just my thoughts on this matter, you can agree or disagree with me, but I wanted to put out there how I really feel on this matter.

    Thank You,

    WHL

    1. First of all, thanks for your input! My view is in my blog. However, views from others are of utmost importance. I guess, due to political reasons, the western media tends to portrait a picture that Hongkongers get their just desserts as the wheel of fortune turns and should adjust themselves for the forced integration, especially during China-Hong Kong social conflicts. Poor Hong Kong netizens don’t know about that. They see as you see. I was very angry at first. But anger doesn’t change anything. Therefore, I made up my mind to blog. Shame on the elites of Hong Kong. They do nothing to save the reputation of Hongkongers. There should be some interventions before the first irreconcilable tragedy happens.

      1. I sincerely disagree. Yes, foreign tourists and expats will see the contiutation of dropping quality of life in Hong Kong and foreign investment will dwindle. It is already happening foreign investment moving to singapore. people of Hong Kong are truly wuss-es (if not cowards.) after all kinds of abuse of the mainland CCP. you haven’t revolted yet? I haven’t seen protest numbers anywhere near 2003 levels.

        – start protesting en masse (at least 1 million) and stop worrying about your iron bowl because at this rate you won’t have the iron bowl left because salaries are going down (close to Shenzhen/Guangzhou levels, ~2k a month)

        – start a revolt and prepare for your lives, fight for your way of life. Let the PLA come in and let the world see what a cancer the CCP and PLA is.

      2. “唔見棺材唔流眼淚” (One doesn’t shed tears until one sees one’s own coffin) is the motto of Hongkongers. Besides, almost all the politicians dare not to organise any protests to against it for fear that they would be called racists towards Mainlanders.

  4. So much horrible things happen to Hong Kongers and Hong Kong, yet no one ever tries to stop it. And by no one, I mean people with actual power, or money. Do they not love Hong Kong? Are people these days really that selfish, emotionless and coldblooded to see their own mother (HK) that nurtured their entire family for generations? I know I cannot stand seeing this. I can’t do much now, but I can say I will do my best devoting my life to this when the time comes. It feels awful seeing this happen.

    1. Those who are in power in Hong Kong won’t do a thing lest they be shunned by their peers and their ‘puppet master’; why should they lift a finger for the sake of Hong Kong’s rights when it doesn’t serve their purpose and pockets? They worship money & status and are the least interested in social justices.
      And those civil servants who care are eventually frustrated and disillusioned by the indifference of their superiors.
      Hong Kong will be assimilated, it is inevitable but it should never be in such a way that brings negative effects on the mentality and quality of life for Hongkongers. Shame on the politicians.

      1. There will be a day of rebellion, that I know. Whether it will bring a change or not, good or bad, successful or unsuccessful remains to be unseen. But I can tell, that there will be a day that there will be riots and rebellion due to dissatisfaction. No longer “peaceful protest” because Hong Kongers will realise that it is useless, China, and HKSAR puppet government will never give them what they want. I just hope this day does not come too late..

  5. Indeed the Hong Kong is no longer the same place I visited regularly previously. I can still remember how shocked I was when I discovered that some of these abhorrent mainland scum would spend the night in a McDonald’s restaurant rather than a hotel to save a few quid. They made a mess of the place, the washroom and just pisses everyone off. And it seems to be a trend now.

  7. Actually, yesterday night, there was an email of City U circulating around on Facebook telling local students not to take too many courses so that Mainland students can graduate on time. It was later proven to be a genuine email. I don’t have time to write it today. Comments are angrier. One of the many comments,
    shityu
    Leung: Hongkongers have no place to stand, no existence value, and they are like beggars serving godmothers and godfathers of Mainland. Thinking of this, I am really heartbroken.

    1. I’m a postgrad at City U (probably why I didn’t receive this letter) and surrounded by mainlanders. I didn’t realize the situation was even worse for the undergrads.

      As postgrads, we receive monthly stipends from the government. I was a little taken back to find out locals and non-locals alike were eligible for this grant money. I wouldn’t call it a successful attempt at attracting foreign talent if almost all postgrads come from a single source, namely mainland China.

      2. Ah, OK. It’s a master’s program, by the looks of it, whereas I’m doing a PhD. Anyway, this goes to show that the mainland’s infiltration is at every level, from our grocery stores to our tertiary education. And when you think about the fact that China is the plagiarism and ghostwriting capital of the world… do we really want these students? How are we to filter out the frauds from the rest? (When I did my master’s, I actually saw a student copying homework in class the day it was due, right in front of the prof.)

        I try to maintain a working relationship with the mainlanders that I have to, but damn.

    2. At least the universities are taking their time to build their extension complexes right instead of rushing to finish them before the start of this school year. We’ve seen in the mainland what happens when people cut corners to meet ridiculous deadlines (and pocket some extra cash).

      Also, I wonder what are the statistics regarding the IELTS scores of these postgraduates. I got an 283 on the computer-based TOEFL, but I went to an international school. I never hear of mainland students taking the TOEFL, though. Then again, even some locals would have trouble getting a 7 on the IELTS, a score I consider minimal for a postgraduate program (nominally) conducted in English.

      Then again, I’m in Electronic Engineering, possibly the worst English offender in all the departments.

      2. sadly, TOEFL scores can be faked using mercancies taking the exam for the student entering grad school. actually, I have seen first year grad students having trouble handling grad school in conducted in English. I have seen several grad schools cry and broken down after the first semester and doesn’t really caught up until end of year one. I have seen endless plagisum(sp?) with EE homework between PRC chinese students, where if caught generates automatic F for the homework if not for the course. Their textbooks are PRC chinese editions of standard EE textbooks, which is sad considering they have to write research papers and thesis every day in grad school.

        Hong Kong english proficiency is slight back to the stone ages which will hinder if not terminate Hong Kong students to compete in the scientific world. It is sad indeed.

        Personally I never friended any PRC chinese because I just don’t like the PRC chinese way of thinking and doing things. I keep my distance as much as possible from them. I can even consider PRC chinese to be the cancer of the world (until Chinese gov’t ditches the CCP and convert to democracy.)

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