Over-the-top crackdown on parallel traders is beneath Hong Kong

Am I the only person in Hong Kong who feels uncomfortable about the recent crackdown on parallel-goods traders? What is it about their activities that we as a community apparently find so offensive?

As I understand it, they are buying goods in Hong Kong, transporting them to another place, and selling them for a profit. This is called "trading" and it is how our city has made a living for itself for decades. Indeed, we are famous around the world for our trading expertise.

Note, they are buying the goods, not stealing them. And they are not even getting a healthy wholesale discount, just paying the over-the-counter price like you and I.

Now I'll grant you there have been some problems arising at the practical level, for example carrying large quantities of goods on MTR trains to the border and blocking station entrances and the carriages themselves, thus inconveniencing local residents. Surely this can be addressed, first by the MTR Corporation enforcing its regulations about the quantity and size of goods individual passengers can carry. (By the way, when we start this enforcement exercise, can we also extend it to Admiralty and Causeway Bay stations?)

It should be pretty easy to find a small fleet of goods vehicles to run a shuttle service from Sheung Shui and other places to the border crossings.

A long wait at immigration and customs? Make those with large quantities of goods use a separate queue.

Then there is the reported issue of the bulk sales pushing up prices, so local residents are being forced to pay extra for baby milk powder, shampoo and other necessities.