The China Thread

[Monoriu]

Wait you like having to pay more for your powdered milk?

I don't.  But it is not about whether I like it or not.  It is about free trade and GDP.

I wouldn't mind them so much either if I had a fully paid flat and a senior civil servant job.   

When I lived in Shenzhen for 3 years I would often come to Hong Kong, and the throngs of mainland shoppers would be a common sight at the border, on the subway and at particular shopping venues.  I can see why a lot of HKers do not like them.  There are the wealthy ones which pose their own sets of problems, but the most noticeable (at least to my eyes) are the throngs of poorly mannered, uneducated bumpkins that descend upon the city day in and day out, some of them multiple times in one day.   

I don't think tourist is the right word to describe them.  They are professional full time businessmen involved in a huge logistical operation that transports HK goods to the mainland with hundreds of thousands of people.  The reason they can't use containers and ships is because of mainland tariffs and customs.  This is now a very common sight in HK.  They leave the trash on the ground, obstruct pedestrian pavements, are noisy, drive up prices of transport and food, etc.  I am all for more business, but the pain for the locals is very real.

[Monoriu]

How come they trust HK products but not Chinese products?- are they not the same?
Can't Chinese shops just start importing from the same place as the HK shops?

No they aren't the same.  International suppliers often have different product lines for mainland and HK, with the HK product line being superior in quality.  There is also the matter of mainland customs and tariffs.  If you import stuff directly to the mainland, you'll need to pay heavy tariff.  HK is a free port and there are no such restrictions.  HK also uses HK currency which is considered cheaper when compared with RMB.

[Monoriu]

[Monoriu]

How come they trust HK products but not Chinese products?- are they not the same?
Can't Chinese shops just start importing from the same place as the HK shops?

A mainland consumer couldn't be sure they are not knock offs.

Thing is, if you buy knock offs on the mainland, then you complain about it, and the knock offs happen to be produced by some senior official (which is most of the time), you go to jail.  If you buy knock offs in HK, and you complain about it, the media can report it, the government will arrest the sellers and producers of the knockoffs, and you may or may not get a refund.

[Camerus]

How come they trust HK products but not Chinese products?- are they not the same?
Can't Chinese shops just start importing from the same place as the HK shops?

No they aren't the same.  International suppliers often have different product lines for mainland and HK, with the HK product line being superior in quality.  There is also the matter of mainland customs and tariffs.  If you import stuff directly to the mainland, you'll need to pay heavy tariff.  HK is a free port and there are no such restrictions.  HK also uses HK currency which is considered cheaper when compared with RMB.

Yeah, I'd estimate international goods in mainland China are a good 20%-40% more expensive than if purchased in HK... plus you run the risk that it is a fake.

[Monoriu]

Basically, there is nobody I know who can stand the mainland tourists.  I am the only person who don't mind.  Everybody, even the most pro-mainland and pro-government people, scream that the government should put a stop to it.  If HK were a real democracy, it would have been done eons ago.  Only the unelected pro-business administration could have held off the tsunami of public opinion for as long as they did.

[Josquius]

I have absolutely no idea about these stereotypes but I laugh nonetheless.
South Chinese girls vs North Chinese girls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiIu_EzuWk

[Eddie Teach]

 

So basically
South China Girl = Bridget Jones
North China Girl = Ke$ha

[Admiral Yi]

North Girl = juicehead psychopath.

South Girl = weenie.

[Eddie Teach]

That's what I said.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't know who Kei#ha is .

[Eddie Teach]

She sings about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels.

[Admiral Yi]

Where's the psychopath part?

[Eddie Teach]

Eh, I think if you knew who she was you could easily imagine her cutting a bitch. 

[Valmy]

South Chinese Girl: What Texan Women pretend to be
North Chinese Girl: What Texan Women actually are