'Patriotic' protest leaves mainland Chinese visitors bemused
Demonstrators dressed as Red Guards urge mainlanders to spend their cash at home
Revolutionary music blared through the streets of Causeway Bay yesterday as dozens of people dressed in Red Guard uniforms staged a tongue-in-cheek protest against the influx of mainland visitors to Hong Kong.
Waving national flags and copies of Mao's "little red book" outside the Sogo department store on Hennessy Road, the protesters sarcastically chanted: "Love the motherland; use made-in-China products!"
The organisers, a radical anti-Beijing group called The Faculty of Orchid Gardening, said the purpose of yesterday's event was to "liberate Causeway Bay" by urging the visitors to "be patriotic" and return to the mainland for their shopping.
"Coming to Hong Kong to buy foreign goods is treachery," group chairman Barry Ma shouted on stage.
"They come here to buy foreign-branded milk powder, sanitary pads and even condoms … We are being patriotic by buying our outfits from Taobao and our HK$25 plimsolls, which are all made in China."
The event was one of several Sunday protests in recent months against the impact of mainland visitors on the city.
Last month, scores of protesters marched through Tsim Sha Tsui demanding the government curb mainland visitors. Demonstrators hurled abuse at mainland shoppers and briefly clashed with passers-by.
