Thieving ‘migratory birds’ from northeast China ruffle feathers on tropical island of Hainan
- Six pensioners from northeast detained after they were caught loading mangoes onto a truck
- Winter migration of hundreds of thousands of elderly people is a long-standing cause of resentment among locals
Six senior citizens have been detained for stealing 100kg (220lb) of mangoes on the tropical Chinese province of Hainan in an incident that has fuelled the long-standing tension between locals and pensioners from the northeast.
Every winter, hundreds of thousands of pensioners fly from their hometowns in the freezing northeast to Hainan to take advantage of the island’s warm weather.
They are called “migratory birds” by Hainanese who generally do not welcome their arrival, blaming them for using up too many public resources.
Videos of altercations between elderly northeasterners and Hainan residents have circulated widely on social media over the years.
In the latest incident, three women and three men six aged between 57 and 68, were detained for 13 days after they were caught in a mango field near a highway in the province’s capital Sanya last week, news portal Btime.com reported Wednesday.
Police said they brought big bags with them and were loading the fruit onto a pickup truck.
Five of those caught were from Heilongjiang and the sixth was from Liaoning – two provinces where winter temperatures can fall to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22F).