Cantonese ties fray across border: Lao Zhenyu

The Hong Kong-China conflicts used to be just words but they eventually had a real impact on my family life. Even during the spring festival when my Hong Kong relatives came over to visit, we were trying to avoid discussing touchy subjects to maintain harmony.

We have grown up listening to Hong Kong pop music and consuming its news and entertainment through cross-border radio and television signals since the 1980s. Many Guangzhou people have family ties in Hong Kong that allow us to gain a clearer perspective on the city while also understanding what's happening on the mainland. The problems that Hong Kong now faces were first experienced by Guangzhou natives since the '90s when millions of migrant workers rushed in to seek a living. This has pushed up our living costs, housing prices and congested our roads, but equally they have provided services and productivity.

I have always been concerned with cross-border relationships. As a native of Guangzhou, I share deep connections with Hong Kong as half of my family members live there. Hong Kong is being bombarded by the most drastic commentary from nationalist media outlets and the mainland press, and also singled out for some of the harshest words by a minority of Hongkongers.