內地和香港矛盾加深，不少港人尤其覺得內地人掠奪資源、爭奪機會，挑起港人的仇視情緒，但罪魁禍首，不一定祇是內地來港掃貨的旅客和水貨客，香港本身「幫兇」也不少。
就以鬧得滿城風雨的奶粉短缺問題來說，內地人「搶」奶粉的範圍遍布世界多國，誠然遠赴重洋買奶粉的人遠到香港的少，但在外國「奶粉荒」往往很快便平息，其中一個原因就是在零售層面實施限購，不論是當地居民或中國遊客都一視同仁，反觀香港不但沒有全面限購，更有商人寧可囤積然後以高價大批賣給內地客或水貨客，也不願以正價少量賣給港人，全世界絕無僅有。試想外國的商人也可依樣畫葫蘆圖利，但為何他們沒有這樣做？
負責運水貨的，內地人和本港居民也有，但能夠在香港統籌物資採購、運輸和分配的不可能是內地人吧，因為他們哪裡有網絡、人脈和資訊呢？當然香港是自由經濟，從事水貨活動的任何環節並不犯法，但沒有這些行為，奶粉供應何來緊張？
「螞蟻搬家」式搬運水貨過境需大量人力，保安局數字便指出水貨客中港人佔六成，而最近水貨商為增加貨源而聘人在藥房排隊買貨，這些排隊黨不少便是各區居民。水貨客和排隊黨有的是時間，為的是金錢，每次過境或排隊，為賺數十元花上兩三小時也在所不惜，這些報酬誠然在香港仍有購買力和吸引力——在外國一個漢堡包隨時不祇那些價錢，可謂微不足道——但有這麼多人參與其中，究竟是那些人大多生活拮据，還是貪錢？
港人看得多內地食品和其他產品的醜聞，都會說內地商人為了錢甚麼都做得出，但我想港人祇是五十步笑百步，且看多少港人為了這場國內奶粉誠信危機而趁機發財，祇不過香港和國內最大的分別，就是香港人還不致於會做出例如在奶粉加添三聚氰胺出售的犯法事而已。港人貪錢本色，比五十年不變更有保證，在發這場「國難財」時表露無遺，但正是這些貪錢行徑，造成一場貽害社會秩序和公共健康的奶粉荒。
Hong Kongers are feeling increasingly threatened by the mainland Chinese on a daily basis as they witness a fight for common daily items on a daily basis and perceive further competition for other resources and opportunities in the longer term. The sight of masses of mainlanders shopping and hoarding goods in the streets of Hong Kong has certainly created a lot of the unease, but there is no lack of corroborators on Hong Kong’s part contributing to this tension.
Lately Chinese people’s confidence in their own country’s infant formula milk powder has taken a nosedive, and those who can afford it are acquiring foreign milk powder outside the country’s borders. Several European countries, Australia and New Zealand have reported a temporary shortage of milk powder as mainland tourists or the local Chinese population rushed to buy milk powder from supermarkets or pharmacies. However the normal order was soon restored after retailers in those countries imposed restrictions on the quantity of purchase by all customers regardless of their status. Hong Kong bears the blunt of this crisis of confidence as most mainlanders would make their purchases in Hong Kong, but unlike most other countries, Hong Kong does not have a blanket restriction across all retailers. In fact some shunned the local mums and dads who would buy a much smaller amount, but reserved their stock for selling at an inflated price to the bulk-buyers from the mainland or ‘parallel traders’ who would transport the milk powder across the boundary from Hong Kong to the mainland. Where else in the world have the retailers done the same even though they could have profiteered by behaving in the same fashion?
Those parallel traders (somewhat like the bootleggers for alcohol during the Prohibition era in the USA in the 1920s, but in this case the transport is not illegal and would only incur excise and fine by the mainland authorities when total value of goods carried exceeds a limit) are drawn from mainlanders and Hong Kongers alike, but those co-ordinating the acquisition, transport and distribution of large amounts of milk powder in Hong Kong for such parallel trading can only possibly be controlled by the locals. After all, how can a non-local tap into the right local network, people and information for such operations? Hong Kong is a free economy and parallel trading is not illegal, but the shortage of milk powder in Hong Kong has become so much more acute because of it.
The parallel trading relies on a large ‘workforce’ whereby each trader carries one or two dozen tins of milk powder from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and 60% of those traders are Hong Kongers according to statistics by the Security Bureau. To boost the source of milk powder, the masterminds of parallel trade have recently resorted to paying housewives or retirees to queue in front of pharmacies and snap up all the milk powder as soon as the shop opens. Apparently those parallel traders and queueing customers are happy to spend a couple of hours of their time for each delivery of goods and queueing, respectively, to receive HK$ 50 or so. This amount may be meagre in other countries (US$ 6.50, 4.75 €, ₤ 4) but in Hong Kong it still has some spending power. With so many people participating, one wonders if they were all so poor that they were desperate for such money, or they were in for a quick buck.
Hong Kongers often conclude from the flood of news on dangerous food or other goods manufactured in mainland China that mainland Chinese business people would do anything for money. Hong Kongers themselves are not much better judging from how a sizeable segment of the society participated en masse to profit from the milk powder crisis, although they may not go so far as to show total disregard for the law or put others’ health at stake (which is the origin of the milk powder crisis in China). Money worship is an undeletable trait of Hong Kongers and making money is the most participated local sport. Many have milked handsome gains from selling Hong Kong’s milk powder to the mainland, but yet more have been left high and dry by the local milk powder shortage exacerbated by such rampant profiteering.
就以鬧得滿城風雨的奶粉短缺問題來說，內地人「搶」奶粉的範圍遍布世界多國，誠然遠赴重洋買奶粉的人遠到香港的少，但在外國「奶粉荒」往往很快便平息，其中一個原因就是在零售層面實施限購，不論是當地居民或中國遊客都一視同仁，反觀香港不但沒有全面限購，更有商人寧可囤積然後以高價大批賣給內地客或水貨客，也不願以正價少量賣給港人，全世界絕無僅有。試想外國的商人也可依樣畫葫蘆圖利，但為何他們沒有這樣做？
負責運水貨的，內地人和本港居民也有，但能夠在香港統籌物資採購、運輸和分配的不可能是內地人吧，因為他們哪裡有網絡、人脈和資訊呢？當然香港是自由經濟，從事水貨活動的任何環節並不犯法，但沒有這些行為，奶粉供應何來緊張？
「螞蟻搬家」式搬運水貨過境需大量人力，保安局數字便指出水貨客中港人佔六成，而最近水貨商為增加貨源而聘人在藥房排隊買貨，這些排隊黨不少便是各區居民。水貨客和排隊黨有的是時間，為的是金錢，每次過境或排隊，為賺數十元花上兩三小時也在所不惜，這些報酬誠然在香港仍有購買力和吸引力——在外國一個漢堡包隨時不祇那些價錢，可謂微不足道——但有這麼多人參與其中，究竟是那些人大多生活拮据，還是貪錢？
港人看得多內地食品和其他產品的醜聞，都會說內地商人為了錢甚麼都做得出，但我想港人祇是五十步笑百步，且看多少港人為了這場國內奶粉誠信危機而趁機發財，祇不過香港和國內最大的分別，就是香港人還不致於會做出例如在奶粉加添三聚氰胺出售的犯法事而已。港人貪錢本色，比五十年不變更有保證，在發這場「國難財」時表露無遺，但正是這些貪錢行徑，造成一場貽害社會秩序和公共健康的奶粉荒。
Hong Kongers are feeling increasingly threatened by the mainland Chinese on a daily basis as they witness a fight for common daily items on a daily basis and perceive further competition for other resources and opportunities in the longer term. The sight of masses of mainlanders shopping and hoarding goods in the streets of Hong Kong has certainly created a lot of the unease, but there is no lack of corroborators on Hong Kong’s part contributing to this tension.
Lately Chinese people’s confidence in their own country’s infant formula milk powder has taken a nosedive, and those who can afford it are acquiring foreign milk powder outside the country’s borders. Several European countries, Australia and New Zealand have reported a temporary shortage of milk powder as mainland tourists or the local Chinese population rushed to buy milk powder from supermarkets or pharmacies. However the normal order was soon restored after retailers in those countries imposed restrictions on the quantity of purchase by all customers regardless of their status. Hong Kong bears the blunt of this crisis of confidence as most mainlanders would make their purchases in Hong Kong, but unlike most other countries, Hong Kong does not have a blanket restriction across all retailers. In fact some shunned the local mums and dads who would buy a much smaller amount, but reserved their stock for selling at an inflated price to the bulk-buyers from the mainland or ‘parallel traders’ who would transport the milk powder across the boundary from Hong Kong to the mainland. Where else in the world have the retailers done the same even though they could have profiteered by behaving in the same fashion?
Those parallel traders (somewhat like the bootleggers for alcohol during the Prohibition era in the USA in the 1920s, but in this case the transport is not illegal and would only incur excise and fine by the mainland authorities when total value of goods carried exceeds a limit) are drawn from mainlanders and Hong Kongers alike, but those co-ordinating the acquisition, transport and distribution of large amounts of milk powder in Hong Kong for such parallel trading can only possibly be controlled by the locals. After all, how can a non-local tap into the right local network, people and information for such operations? Hong Kong is a free economy and parallel trading is not illegal, but the shortage of milk powder in Hong Kong has become so much more acute because of it.
The parallel trading relies on a large ‘workforce’ whereby each trader carries one or two dozen tins of milk powder from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and 60% of those traders are Hong Kongers according to statistics by the Security Bureau. To boost the source of milk powder, the masterminds of parallel trade have recently resorted to paying housewives or retirees to queue in front of pharmacies and snap up all the milk powder as soon as the shop opens. Apparently those parallel traders and queueing customers are happy to spend a couple of hours of their time for each delivery of goods and queueing, respectively, to receive HK$ 50 or so. This amount may be meagre in other countries (US$ 6.50, 4.75 €, ₤ 4) but in Hong Kong it still has some spending power. With so many people participating, one wonders if they were all so poor that they were desperate for such money, or they were in for a quick buck.
Hong Kongers often conclude from the flood of news on dangerous food or other goods manufactured in mainland China that mainland Chinese business people would do anything for money. Hong Kongers themselves are not much better judging from how a sizeable segment of the society participated en masse to profit from the milk powder crisis, although they may not go so far as to show total disregard for the law or put others’ health at stake (which is the origin of the milk powder crisis in China). Money worship is an undeletable trait of Hong Kongers and making money is the most participated local sport. Many have milked handsome gains from selling Hong Kong’s milk powder to the mainland, but yet more have been left high and dry by the local milk powder shortage exacerbated by such rampant profiteering.
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