Food safety concerns on mainland driving parallel-traders to Hong Kong says Shenzhen Party chief

The problem of food safety on the mainland is driving parallel-goods trading in Hong Kong, said the Communist Party chief in Shenzhen.

"Compared with Hong Kong, the mainland's food safety problem is quite severe, so I think that's why people [go to] Hong Kong," said Wang Rong .

"But this will soon change as we are stepping up food-safety monitoring and the integrity of cooperation is on the rise."

His comments came after hundreds of people gathered in Tuen Mun on Sunday to protest against parallel-good traders. An officer and 13 local people suffered minor injuries as protesters clashed with police. Ten protesters have been charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly.

"The governments of Shenzhen and Hong Kong had been trying to resolve the problem of parallel-goods trading and the cross-border conflicts, but institutional differences and contrasting regulations over commercial products have slowed the process," said Wang.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying yesterday called Sunday's protests "unacceptable", adding: "We cannot accept a small group of people voicing their dissatisfaction by attacking malls and creating a nuisance to society."