Beijing finds Hongkongers' nostalgia for colonial era hard to fathom
From colonial-flag waving to tourism overkill, officials show they don't yet understand the city
Four years after Chen Zuoer retired from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, he dominated Hong Kong's newspaper headlines again two weeks ago when he lamented the waving of British flags during recent demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Chen, the former deputy director of the HKMAO, who was in town to promote his book Negotiations on The Handover of Sovereignty of Hong Kong - A Witness Recounts, said he was "heartbroken" when he saw the British flag being carried at the march on July 1.
He was also heartbroken to see a man carrying a placard with the slogan "The Chinese scram back to China!" during a recent protest against cross-border parallel traders in Sheung Shui.
For Chen, and possibly a substantial number of mainland officials, the apparently growing wave of nostalgia for the colonial era among some Hong Kong people and the resentment against mainlanders has crossed a red line.
They cannot understand why Beijing, which has spared no effort in helping Hong Kong ride out the economic hard times since the handover, still fails to win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers.
In his book, Chen recalls how the central government instructed Shenzhen Airport to handle cargo destined for Hong Kong after teething problems when Chek Lap Kok Airport opened in July 1998, and its provision of protective clothes and face masks during the deadly Sars outbreak in 2003.