Milk Powder Case Study

Milk powder. Who’d have thought that milk power would become a political issue? More specifically, what has milk power got to do with Hong Kong’s relationship with the mainland? The answer is everything. Following the 2008 mainland plastic in milk powder scandal, mothers no longer trusted their local producers. In response, a whole industry developed of acquiring milk powder from Hong Kong. In the process, this made it impossible for Hong Kong parents to source milk powder in the city.

Thousands of parallel importers scoured the city, hoovering up all the milk power. Laws proved necessary to curtail the practice. This episode was part of a series of events that fueled anti-mainland sentiment. These events have had a profound impact on governance,
Sentiment plunged to new lows as Hong Kong shook under the impact of SARS. The rebound was dramatic, as by 2006 new heights of confidence were reached. Unfortunately, since then it's been a steady decline. The lowest ratings was recorded during the 2014 Occupy Movement. With the 20th Anniversary next week, the sentiment data remains in the doldrums.

Hong Kong’s relationship with the Mainland is complicated by a lot of baggage. Many residents came to Hong Kong fleeing the upheavals of China in the 1950s and 1960s. The blood links to the mainland are deep. Some worked to help China stand up as it adopted an open-door policy, They made a good living in the process. Then, as China opened to the world, it was Hong Kong entrepreneurs who give it substance with investment.

Proud of the progress that China made, Hong Kong people took a pride in their contribution. Soon that pride was overtaken by fears that mainlanders were burning up Hong Kong’s world class services. Local mothers struggled to access hospitals to give birth as wards overflowed with mainland mothers. Then tourists and traders overwhelmed the streets. The locals felt under siege. Whilst the tourists brought jobs, the economic benefits were not seen by all. Crowded public transport systems grew intolerable as throngs of tourists added to the daily struggle of
Given Hong Kong’s history, these are a stark reminder that without vigilance things could soon slip. Feeding the narrative that the governance is eroding are delays in dealing with key issues. Poverty, the wealth gap, a universal pension scheme and the lamentable MPF rip off all irk the public. Many in the community believe they are getting a poor deal. Meanwhile, the government is seen to favour vested interests over the wider community. The veracity of these assertions is debatable. But, people perceive it to be true, thus that shapes their