Proliferation of locusts in anti-migrant campaigns
Hong Kong's locust imagery may be catching on. Soon after the advert appeared in the city likening mainland tourists to the swarming pest, locust images popped up in some of the mainland's biggest cities as part of campaigns against migrants.
One poster in Beijing shows a locust overlooking, not Victoria Harbour, but Tiananmen Square, and says: '[Immigrants from the rest of China] have ruined Beijing's culture, interrupted [its] order and pushed up [its property prices].'
A similar one in Shanghai 'strongly demands the government to amend the law to stop the endless influx of migrants into Shanghai', claiming that the city has been burdened by the 'uncivilised behaviour' of immigrants.
One in Guangzhou carries the same sentiment: 'Our transport has been messed up. We [Guangzhou people] have to bear it when you lie alone on three bus seats, [or] you talk on phone aloud ... on the metro.'
Hong Kong's neighbour, at least, struck a more inviting tone. 'Shenzhen welcomes you,' says a poster depicting the migrant-packed special economic zone founded by late leader Deng Xiaoping.
