Protecting Hong Kong's values, customs and resources are priorities that cannot be compromised. That was the conclusion drawn from a marathon forum on identity that veered from being civil to mob-like.
'During the handover, why did China grant Hong Kong the status of 'one country, two systems'?' asked Chan Wan, a political commentator. 'It's because China already had long-term plans to take advantage of Hong Kong's special economic status.'
More than 300 people of all ages packed the lecture hall at City University of Hong Kong, with many squeezing into the aisles to take part in the forum. And they stayed for more than four hours, cheering and cursing in turns.
The discussion was hosted by the university and non-profit organisation Community Development Initiative in response to a boiling-over of resentment towards mainland tourists that saw them portrayed as locusts in a newspaper advertisement placed by a group of angry Hongkongers.
Yu Wai-pan, of the activist group Youth Against Racism, warned that anti-mainlander sentiment was blatantly racist. 'Take the issue of mainland women gatecrashing to give birth in Hong Kong,' he said. 'The ones that actually gatecrash are not a big number. The bigger issue here is that our medical services are underfunded and understaffed.
'There are a lot of mainland students studying in Hong Kong that are very civil. Let's not get carried away.'
