Is the rise of localism a threat to Hong Kong's cosmopolitan values?

Hong Kong may be gripped by the issue of political reform but the fate of a 12-year-old undocumented boy from the mainland is also the talk of the town. At the core, both are linked inextricably to Hong Kong's identity vis-à-vis the mainland.

The case of Siu Yau-wai, smuggled here from Shenzhen by his grandmother at age three, has sparked a divisive public debate. Shortly after his case came to light on May 21, the Immigration Department granted him temporary papers.

But anti-mainland groups surrounded the office of Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Chan Yuen-han to protest against her role in helping the boy. They accused the veteran unionist and Beijing loyalist of betraying Hongkongers by setting a precedent and opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants from mainland.

The protesters then went a step further and besieged the Confucian Tai Shing Primary School in Wong Tai Sin, whose principal had earlier voiced interest in offering the boy a place after finding out he had never gone to school. Posters with the words "traitors" and "my classmate is an illegal immigrant" were plastered on the school's doors.

Images of a schoolgirl bursting into tears because of the incident sparked condemnation among many who felt the boy was being treated with such derision because he was a mainlander.

Online, views have been equally split. While some expressed reservations about the protests and called for all children to be given access to education, others posted hateful comments online, demanding the boy be deported to avoid setting a precedent for illegal immigrants. They wanted him back on the mainland even though he has no relatives there.

"Yau-wai is an illegal immigrant and he should be sent back to the mainland immediately. China has its own social protection system and there's no need for Hong Kong to take care of him with its generosity," says Danny Chan Tsz-chun, a member of Hong Kong Blue Righteous Revolt, a pro-independence group.