The Invasion of Tuen Mun

Lots of people lining up for the convenient B3X bus to Shenzhen Port Bay

China really needs to fix its product quality issues, from food to shampoo. Hong Kong has had enough of parallel traders invading residential areas and snapping up goods to sell across the border.

Today was evidence of that frustration with a massive protest in Tuen Mun that resulted in police unleashing pepper spray.

Residents were protesting against not only the parallel traders, but also those enabling them, like Citybus' express B3X, that for HK$11 runs from Shenzhen Bay Port to Tuen Mun Town Centre. The bus mostly carries mainlanders and those shuttling goods across the border several times a day.

Two weeks ago 12,000 mainlanders took advantage of the offer of a free ride on that bus that was organized by three shopping malls in the district.

Protesters out in full force against shoppers invading Tuen Mun

"Every time I walk home, I can't get by because I am blocked by a horde of [mainlanders] with luggage on the pavement," said one Tuen Mun resident.

The parallel traders seemed unfazed by the protest, with some taking photos of the event on their phones or as their bus went by, gave protesters the middle finger.

The protest also moved to malls, and when protesters arrived at Tuen Mun Town Plaza, tensions devolved into a shoving match and police launched pepper spray into the crowd. From pictures it looks like police were about to unleash pepper spray in the mall, which will surely result in questions on judgment in crowd control in a confined space.

Batons were also used resulting in injuries on both sides.

Is this the best way to handle the situation?

Why is the Hong Kong government standing idly by while these conflicts continue? Is it still trying to boost its retail figures that saw dismal numbers in December?

Some mainlanders admit they don't want to come to Hong Kong, but they want to know the food and products they buy are safe. Their lack of confidence has stimulated Hong Kong's economy but has resulted in social conflicts that do not bode well for the city's eventual integration with the mainland...

Perhaps government officials should come to Tuen Mun and live a day in the life of residents there to really see what's going on. But of course that's wishful thinking...

The Paper Trail Ends Here

The confiscated toilet paper and packets of tissues with Leung Chun-ying's face

The Democratic Party is now scrambling to find alternative products to sell during the Lunar New Year Fair after its potentially top-grossing item, toilet paper featuring the face of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, was confiscated by mainland authorities.

They not only seized 7,600 rolls of this toilet paper, but also 20,000 packets of tissues with Leung's face on them.

Last year the Democrats grossed HK$100,000 ($12,900) from selling 4,000 rolls of the toilet paper, and this year ordered from the same company.

Kelvin Lai King-wai is head of the Democrats' creative media division. He was surprised that the authorities were able to track down their latest order because they had placed it under the name of someone who was not a member of the party, and had not revealed their identity in the process.

"The stocks had been packed and were to be shipped to Hong Kong today, but the mainland officers suddenly inspected the factory and took away all the boxes," he said yesterday, adding that they also sealed the factory.

Lai said the party spent HK$70,000 for two booths in Victoria Park and another HK$20,000 as a deposit for the toilet paper and tissues. They are now scrambling to find a local manufacturer to produce the same products.

Not only does the factory in the mainland produce toilet paper with Leung's face on it, but those of former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and United States President Barack Obama without any problems.

Perhaps the Democrats could stock up on the Tsang toilet paper, as an announcement on possible charges is imminent...

But it's quite obvious someone -- either Leung himself or someone related to the Liaison Office -- wanted that toilet paper tracked down and confiscated.

Would this be considered an obstruction to freedom of expression? Or a covert operation to stop Leung being the butt of all jokes?

If anything it's given the Democrats some badly needed popularity points. We'll see what they come up with in the next few days...

Comic Lacks Political Chops

Tsang resigned from the Jiangmen provincial CPPCC today

When you're appointed to become a delegate of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, it's not something to be taken lightly.

While card-carrying Communists who have proven their worth are usually invited into this elite group that gives suggestions to the Central government in the hopes that they will be made into policy, there are others who get conferred these titles by merit of their celebrity status.

Such is the case with Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang Chi-wai, who was appointed a delegate of the Jiangmen provincial CPPCC in January 2011.

But mainland Chinese media have criticized him in the last few days for failing to show up at the annual political consultative conference in Jiangmen for the fifth consecutive year. He also didn't submit any consultation proposals, according to the Southern Metropolis News.

China Youth Daily also chimed in with an editorial, urging Tsang to step down.

"To some celebrities, a local political consultative conference title is just an additional feature to them and they might not [take] it seriously. Delegate Zeng has never fulfilled his duty... and served as a poor example," the commentary said. "Those who cannot fulfill the duties should either resign or be sacked," it added.

And so today Tsang followed the editorial and resigned. "I am very sorry," he said, according to Hong Kong media. "As a delegate on both the Guangzhou and Jiangmen political consultative conferences, I could only attend the one in Guangzhou because the dates of the two annual assemblies clashed.

"I have already telephoned Jiangmen Political Consultative Conference to announce my resignation."

Despite the embarrassment, Tsang must be breathing a sigh of relief with having one responsibility taken off his shoulders.

But why was he appointed to two CPPCCs and what made him a suitable candidate to be chosen to join in the first place?

This is a similar situation to former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang who is a member of the national committee of the CPPCC. He attended the annual session at the last minute after public criticism of him not showing up for two years.

He had to cut short his medical treatment in the United States to fly back to Beijing two days before the session ended, and apologized for his absence.

Athletes and celebrities may be too busy to think about recommendations to the central government, let alone be qualified, unless they really are advocates in their respective communities.

Let's not forget Tsang resigned as chair of the Hong Kong Performing Artist Guild in October 2013 after he was criticized for not speaking up on behalf of fellow actors on the television license issue.

Politics is clearly not in Tsang's blood. Let him continue cracking jokes instead on the stage where he belongs.

The Truth About Air Pollution in China

Air pollution in Beijing is apparently not as bad as some other cities in China

A new study by Greenpeace and Peking University shows that air pollution kills more people than smoking in many cities in China.

The smog-inducing pollutants known as PM2.5 caused 257,000 premature deaths across the mainland's 31 cities and provincial capitals in 2013 according to the study, an average of about 90 in every 100,000 deaths.

But the averages were higher in 12 of the 31 cities, including Shijiazhuang, Nanjing, Tianjin and Chongqing, where at least 100 out of every 100,000 deaths were caused by PM2.5.

These two averages were higher than the official mortality rate for smoking, which was about 70 per 100,000 deaths in 2012, according to Greenpeace.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as there are some cities, like those in Hebei province that are even more polluted, but were not included in the survey.

Although many complain about Beijing's smog, the Chinese capital actually measured 79 of every 100,000 premature deaths due to air pollution, lower than 21 other cities featured.

Peking University professor Pan Xiaochuan said the survey team tried to collect data from more than 100 cities, but many had data that was either incomplete or inconsistent.

This says a lot about not only collecting data properly, but also the individual municipalities' and provinces' concerns about public healthcare issues. PM 2.5 are tiny particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns that can stay lodged in a person's lungs.

While 21 cities have introduced plans to tackle air pollution, setting themselves reduction targets to be met by 2017, Greenpeace says even if such goals were met, only 26,000 deaths could be avoided annually.

The environmental activist group says the entire country needs to make a concerted comprehensive and collected effort to reduce pollution.

There are no official statistics on premature deaths caused by air pollution. In 2013, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention launched a study on the impact of smog on public health, but the results won't be ready until later this year.

Interestingly last year former health minister Chen Zhu and three other authors estimated in The Lancet medical journal that air pollution caused 350,000 to 500,000 premature deaths per year.

But an earlier study in the same journal said air pollution accounted for 1.2 million premature deaths in 2010 alone.

So what are the real numbers? Perhaps China is too scared to find out... or more importantly be blamed for these deaths...