A row between Hongkongers and mainlanders is reaching boiling point after internet users raised more than HK$100,000 in less than a week to finance a full-page 'anti-locust' advertisement in a Chinese-language newspaper in the city.
Critics, urging the government to uphold Hong Kong's values or face a social crisis, warn hostility towards mainlanders will only worsen.
A full-page ad featuring an image of locusts - a label used to refer to mainland visitors among sections of the city's web community - appears in today's Apple Daily, according to the organiser of the fund-raising campaign on the Golden Forum site, a user calling himself Yung Jhon.
'[Mainlanders] have already crossed our bottom line,' said Yung Jhon, who refused to disclose his real name. 'Why are mainland mothers flooding in to take up resources in public hospitals, getting our benefits and social welfare? Why do mainlanders ... refuse to follow our rules and order? We can't accept that.'
Culture critic Jimmy Pang Chi-ming warned the hostility had reached a critical point and welcomed the ad. 'It not only shows Hong Kong has freedom of speech, but also shows mainland leaders just how serious this cultural clash has become,' he said, adding that the dispute reflected resistance towards mainland culture. 'Hong Kong people do not want Hong Kong to become mainland China.'
Denny Ho Kwok-leung, associate professor at Polytechnic University's Department of Applied Social Science, said placing the ad in a mainstream newspaper indicated the row was unlikely to end any time soon. He warned that the city's authorities must uphold Hong Kong's core values, including the rule of law and freedom of speech. 'It is very important for the police and the courts to stick to the principles because if they cannot do that, people will lose their faith in the system, and Hong Kong will collapse in no time,' Ho said.