Need any more proof that Hong Kongers are fed up with mainland shoppers raiding their shelves of milk? On Tuesday, someone submitted a petition to the White House for the Obama administration to “request for international support and assistance,” which is vague, “as babies in Hong Kong will face malnutrition very soon,” which feels like an insult to places where babies are facing actual malnutrition. More than 5,000 people have signed so far; 100,000 signatures are needed by February 28 for the Obama administration to, I dunno, raise a People’s Eyebrow or something.
But even if that fails, Hong Kong’s legislature is attacking the issue from another front. According to SCMP, “The city is considering making infant milk formula a ‘reserved commodity’ after executive councillor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee floated the idea to restrict exports and ensure local needs are met.” That would allow the city to set a price ceiling and restrict imports and exports. In simple terms, Ip proposes travelers be allowed to carry no more than two cans of milk powder out of the city.
That would counter pharmacies that reportedly reserved baby formula to sell at higher prices to mainlanders. “The government bears a responsibility to push down prices of goods where necessary,” she said.
Once the Chief Executive in Council approved the addition to the ordinance, the measure would take immediate effect, she said. The Legislative Council could vote on it at a later stage.
Leave it to chief executive CY Leung to be the voice of reason: “We hope to ensure that milk powder can be more conveniently delivered to mothers and babies [in a] joint Hong Kong-mainland effort.”
Joint Hong Kong-mainland efforts haven’t been very popular lately, unfortunately.
Move to protect Hong Kong milk formula stocks by making it ‘reserved commodity’ (SCMP)
I can’t believe that petition is real. I want to sign it just to see the White House’s reaction. Someone needs to open a milk powder factory in America. It could create some jobs here.
You know… or HK could just import more powdered milk and people could make some serious money on it instead of whining and bitching about it. CRAZY I know!
Whining like a bitch is becoming Hong Kong’s speciality. Remember that time where Cartier closed their store down for a customer from the mainland and people went apeshit saying Cartier doesn’t care about the native Hong Kongese? Shit, I watch VH1, they close things down for rich people to privately shop ALL THE TIME. These are private companies providing non-essential goods here. They have absolutely no obligation to favour one type of customer over another, if anything they WANT to drive up the price.
Sometimes I feel like the whining actual ruins my attitude towards any relevant complaints from HK.
Both of you need to realize that there is not a shortage of milk powder globally. What this is a shortage of is safe milk powder on the mainland. And that is caused first by the domestic producers and second by the high tariffs so that imported milk powder becomes extremely expensive on the mainland.
Then, these individuals can make a little money by doing this.
The problem is with China, and no one else. HK has to bear the brunt of China’s failings.
And these mainlanders may well be the same ones saying “Stop stealing our Chinese girls!”
Capitalism. Deal with it, everybody.
No one steals “their” girls – they abort them
This seems more like a business opportunity than anything else. I’m not agreeing with the HK’ers on this one.
As mentioned by other commenters before: just stock the bloody shelves with more milk powder! The only one to blame are the drug stores/supermarkets and the milk powder importers/distributors who can not or do not want to keep up the supply!