Tourism and the fear of locusts

Pearl Buck's novel "The Good Earth," set in a farming village in China's Anhui Province, contains a famous scene in which a swarm of locusts blackening the sky attacks the village's crops. In China there is a word for a migratory type of locust written with the characters for "flying" and "locust."

Recently controversy erupted in Hong Kong over an advertisement depicting a locust overlooking the city. It was a stab at the trend of pregnant women arriving from mainland China to give birth in Hong Kong, comparing them to a swarm of the insects.

If a husband and wife are Chinese nationals, then their child naturally obtains Chinese citizenship, but if the child is born in Hong Kong, then that child obtains Hong Kong residence rights. Because of this, Chinese women of means have occupied Hong Kong's maternity wards, and their children have filled kindergartens and schools.

The controversial ad, which directed hostility at what it depicted as locusts laying waste to public facilities for Hong Kong residents, was funded by local Internet users. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong authorities warned the organizers over the discriminatory nature of the advertisement, but all the same, it uncovered a deep psychological tendency among the people of Hong Kong.

As I have mentioned in previous columns, the clash of culture due to the rise of China emerged first in Hong Kong. It began after Chinese became wealthy, the restrictions for overseas travel were eased, and Chinese headed to Hong Kong and other destinations to buy luxury items and brand-name products.

China now has the world's greatest purchasing power. When Chinese-made powdered milk is found to be contaminated, people from China travel to Hong Kong and fill their suitcases with foreign-made powdered milk. And while such everyday items are being purchased, rich Chinese are also buying high-rise luxury homes on Hong Kong's coasts.

Thanks to this, the Hong Kong economy is performing well. One would expect Hong Kong residents to be happy about this, but difficult emotions are involved. Until recently, Hong Kong was an international city with million-dollar night views, dubbed by some as the pearl of Asia, while China was a poor country filled with bicycles, closed off behind the "Bamboo Curtain."

Symbolic of the change is the Dolce & Gabbana incident in January. The famous Italian fashion house opened a major store in a shopping district of Hong Kong. But when Hong Kong residents tried to take snapshots in front of the store, they were sent on their way. The store was not targeting locals as customers, but rather those from mainland China. Hong Kong residents, their pride bruised, began protests.

Countries across the world are now trying to attract Chinese tourists. The number of foreign tourists to Japan dropped markedly after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, but Chinese tourist numbers are said to have recovered rapidly. This is happy news for Japan, which is trying to build itself up through tourism. Unless people in Japan are conscious of this, the same type of friction seen in Hong Kong will happen here, too.

Source - mainichi.jp