Last summer, pro-democracy protesters harassed Chinese traders in Sheung Shui and smashed storefronts that catered to them in the Hong Kong border town, angry at what they saw as a de facto invasion.
Cosmetics store owner David So poses for a photo behind the shop counter while wearing a face mask, after the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong was shut due to the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Hong Kong's northern town of Sheung Shui, China May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Pak Yiu
She often argues about the issue with her parents, who run a herbal tea shop in Sheung Shui, she said: “They say if no people from the mainland shop here, we won’t have a business. You’ll have nothing to eat. You’ll have nowhere to live.” Anti-mainland sentiment found fertile ground in Sheung Shui, where discontent had been building for more than a decade - since border controls were relaxed - over the fast-growing cross-border trade that was overloading the town’s infrastructure, raising rents and disrupting everyday life.
Only a few months ago, the town reverberated with the sound of rumbling trolleys and bargaining in Mandarin. But now it is quiet. On one block of a main street, seven out of nine cosmetics and baby formula shops had their metal security gates rolled down last week, some displaying ‘for lease’ signs taped over remnants of protest graffiti.
David So said he supports the pro-democracy protesters, even though they damaged his Romantic Cat Cosmetics Store last year because it was popular with mainland traders. He said his sales have dropped 70% to 80% since the border closed.
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