Pepper spray and arrests as Tuen Mun parallel trader protest ends in chaos

Shops closed and tensions ran high in Tuen Mun yesterday as a protest against parallel-goods trading descended into chaotic scenes, arrests and pepper spray.

Hundreds of protesters marched from a central Tuen Mun light rail station to the B3X bus stop down the road, where they shouted "go back to the mainland" and "give us back Tuen Mun" at passengers.

Citybus' HK$11 B3X route runs from Tuen Mun town centre to the Shenzhen Bay border crossing. It is known to be heavily used by parallel-goods traders and mainland visitors.

"Every time I walk home I can't get through because I'm blocked by a horde of [mainlanders] with luggage on the pavement," said one Tuen Mun resident called Chris.

One of the march leaders was Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai, who called the buses "private coaches for parallel traders". He urged protesters to help Citybus staff clamp down on the practice. "Tuen Mun residents, counting on the authorities ... will no longer work. You must take charge of your own district," he said.

The jeering and taunting were met with mixed responses from parallel-goods traders. Some took photos of the protest, while a few raised their middle finger at the protesters as their buses left.