2015 Yuen Long protest

The protesters rallied against the practice of parallel trading; the act of buying goods at cheaper prices in Hong Kong, especially in Yuen Long, and selling them in mainland China for profit.

Due to their proximity to the mainland border, certain towns in the Northern District suffered these effects the most, namely Yuen Long.

Typically, mainland China and Hong Kong maintain a rigid border with full immigration and customs and excise checks.

This enabled traders to easily enter Hong Kong and return to China, including multiple times within the same day.

It is common practice for mainland Chinese citizens to live in neighbouring areas such as the city of Shen Zhen and commute to Hong Kong.

This dichotomy is especially prevalent in the Northern Districts, where business owners greatly benefit from parallel trading, whilst consumers suffer shortages and inflation.

Due to perceived shortages and inflation, residents responded with the a protest campaign named "Recover Sheung Shui" in 2012.

[5] On 02 March 2015 at 4 pm, approximately 200 people gathered at Sau Fu Street (in Yuen Long) to protest the parallel trading.

The dispute between the pro and anti-parallel trading elements continued as the group moved to Tung Lok Street at 5:15 pm.

Yuen Long police superintendent Matthew Lau Mei-Yam denied it being intentional saying "I believe it was an accident".

It also reported that Hong Kong residents and local community organisations expressed great indignation towards the protesters, and urged the police to enforce the law more firmly.

[15] Before the demonstration, the chairperson of Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee threatened that villagers had been overwhelmed and would surround anti-trading protesters when they step out of Long Ping station.

A local opined that parallel traders caused road congestion which brought about traffic problems, and resulted in an increasing number of pharmacies and gold shops aimed at parallel traders replacing shops for locals; he hoped that the multiple-entry permits would be revoked.