Government Defends Action On Parallel Traders

The government says it has taken action to stop the activities of so-called parallel traders, a day after anti-trader protesters clashed with police in the border town of Sheung Shui.

In a statement, the administration said it had barred some 5,000 people from the mainland from entering the SAR over the past 18 months, and the Immigration Department maintained a list of 25,000 people suspected of being involved in parallel trading.

Parallel traders buy products in Hong Kong for resale at a profit across the border, leveraging different tax rates to make a profit. Critics, including protesters who took to the streets on Saturday, say they have left border towns and public transport overcrowded.

They also complain that shops serving local people have been squeezed out of some areas by shops serving traders.

"A minority of protesters used violence to charge and cause damage," the administration said of the protests on Sunday. "It is believed the majority of Hong Kong people would disapprove of such unlawful acts."

As well as barring people from entering the city, the Immigration Department had conducted 140 joint operations with police and arrested 126 people on suspicion of violating their conditions of stay by taking part in parallel trading, it said.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department had also stepped up cleaning and enforcement, while both that department and the police carried out large numbers of raids and issues fixed penalty notices.