For decades, Hong Kong and Macau have been good neighbours. There have been no difficult bilateral issues on the two governments' agenda, let alone thorny political and economic disputes. At one point, reports about the Hong Kong government contemplating the idea of running casinos caused unease among Macau's leaders. The idea was scrapped before any serious discussions could be held.
Without being specific, Macau's Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah urged Hong Kong at the time to take care of the interests of its 'younger brother', which, analysts said, would suffer if Hong Kong became a competitor in the gaming business.
Although much has been said about the upsurge in visitors to Macau in recent years, the development of the tourism industry in the two cities has been largely seen as a win-win case, not a zero-sum game.
Exchanges and contacts between people from all walks of life in Hong Kong and Macau have grown markedly following the two cities' reversion to Chinese sovereignty.
Against that background, the row over Hong Kong people being denied entry into Macau has become a hot potato for the two governments. The row heated up last week when University of Hong Kong law professor Johannes Chan Man-mun was denied entry to give a lecture at a Macau university. He was seen as an unlikely target for a ban.
It gave more ammunition to pan-democratic legislators during a debate on the issue last Wednesday. Several non-affiliated members, including former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, joined the chorus of criticism. The government was targeted for attack for its failure to play hardball against what critics have described as humiliating and unfriendly acts by Macau's authorities.
On Thursday, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said in Beijing he had expressed the concern of Hong Kong people and the government to Mr Ho. At a separate media session, Mr Ho said they would not do anything that was not conducive to 'normal and beneficial' exchanges.
