The latest mass protests in Hong Kong took on a new tactic: highlighting their grievances directly to tourists from mainland China.
Last Sunday’s march was the first to take place in Kowloon, a popular shopping spot for mainlanders.
The choice of location was a deliberate attempt by protest leaders to appeal to tourists, which included some slogans chanted in Mandarin.
Reports of the ongoing demonstrations have been heavily censored in the mainland.
Protest leaders said more than 230,000 turned out and police said it was ‘generally peaceful and orderly’ although a handful of arrests were made.
Their bone of contention – a controversial extradition law – has been suspended but they want Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam to ditch the proposed law for good and then resign.
"We want to show mainlanders that Hong Kong isn’t China, and we want to show other Hong Kongers and the world that we are peaceful so we can gain their support," said teenage protester Josie Kwok.
Still, Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been heavily impacted since the protest began.
Yiu Si-wing, a lawmaker in the tourism sector says it is looking ‘relatively gloomy’ for the industry.
He said the number of tour groups arriving has fallen since mid-June, and those from Southeast Asia are down at least 20 percent.
Another demonstration has been announced for next weekend.
