Hong Kong ad angers mainland netizens

Chinese netizens voiced anger yesterday over a Hong Kong advert portraying mainlanders as "locusts", sparking a call for calm in a state newspaper after an increasingly bitter exchange of words.
The advert was published in Hong Kong's widely-read Apple Daily Wednesday by an anonymous group in retaliation for comments made by Chinese professor Kong Qingdong, who called locals of the former British colony "dogs" and "bastards".
"How dare Hong Kong people have the courage to say we are locusts. No one should go to Hong Kong," said Reneeshou on Sina's popular microblog service.
"This shows a limited sense of appreciation [towards China] and a lack of tolerance of an international city," another commented.
The full-page advert of a huge locust overlooking Hong Kong's skyline demanded action to stop mainland Chinese "infiltration" of the territory.
Mainlanders are a key source of revenue for Hong Kong, but there is growing discontent over the thousands of mainland women who come to give birth in the territory every year, taking up limited beds and pushing up costs, as well as the flashy display of wealth by mainland tourists.
Mainlanders, for their part, complain people from Hong Kong – which is part of China but enjoys more economic and political freedom – look down on them.
However, some admitted the behaviour of mainland Chinese travellers in Hong Kong could be improved.
"I do not like the Apple newspaper ad, but I think people who have been to Hong Kong should reflect on what they did. The quality of behaviour should be improved," another comment read.
The recent, barbed exchanges have prompted the official Global Times newspaper to call for calm.
In an editorial yesterday, the newspaper said China and Hong Kong should grow closer on the basis of a "shared identity".