HK's political figures condemn protesters against mainland shoppers

Hong Kong's political figures on Monday condemned the latest chaos caused by a few protesters who harassed mainland shoppers in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun area on Sunday, where many retailer stores had to close in the middle of the day.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said on Monday that the incidents during the "anti-parallel trade" protests on Sunday were totally unacceptable.

Lai said the group had abused their rights to express their views and exceeded the line of what's permitted by law.

Lai said the near-riotous act by the group of protesters had not only affected local residents but also breached public peace and safety. Lai warned that Hong Kong's police will actively follow up on the incidents.

Chairman of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Peter Lam said in a statement on Monday HKTB strongly condemns those demonstrators, saying such behaviors not only seriously affected local citizen's normal life and tourists' safety, but will affect Hong Kong's retailer sector and smear the city's tourism image as well.

Hong Kong's local media on Monday quoted Lee Siu-Kwong, a deputy to the National People's Congress and a former security secretary, as saying that he noticed that a series of impolite behaviors of some Hong Kong protesters to mainland tourists during the past months have affected retailers' businesses, causing the slumps of retail figures.

Lee worried that protesters' behaviors will destroy many people 's livelihood.

Hong Kong's retail sales plunged 14.6 percent to 46.6 billion HK dollars in January, the biggest drop since 2003, according to the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government last week.

In the latest year-on-year figures, the sales value of jewelry, watches and valuable gifts in Hong Kong fell 21.4 percent in January.

Sales also fell at boutiques, supermarkets and department stores by more than a tenth in January. Sales at cosmetics chain Sa Sa fell 10 percent in the first week of the Lunar New Year.