In the 19th century, western governments talked about the 'yellow peril. Nowadays, citizens in the former British colony say they are tired of the hoards of mainland Chinese who are flooding into Hong Kong. They compare their mainland cousins to swarms of locusts devouring everything in their path ... Beijing isn't impressed.

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Part Two of The Current

Tension between Mainland Chinese flocking to Hong Kong - Journalist

We started this segment with the sound of chaos on the Hong Kong Subway earlier this year. The yelling began when a girl dropped a few dried noodles on the floor of the train. Eating and drinking are forbidden on the subway, and the city's commuters rigorously follow the rules.

But the family that spilled the food was from Mainland China. All this anger over a spilled lunch is just one more indication of growing tensions caused by growing numbers of Mainland Chinese flocking to Hong Kong.

It's got so bad, some Hong Kongers are calling mainlanders 'locusts' because they're swarming the city and consuming its resources.

Bernice Chan has been watching the tensions closely. She is a journalist in Hong Kong, and we reached her at home.

Tension between Mainland Chinese flocking to Hong Kong

As Bernice Chan mentioned, a major flash point in the Hong Kong tensions is the crowding in the city's maternity wards. Serena Eze was directly affected when she gave birth. And she's now a member of a group called Hong Kong Mama. We reached her in Hong Kong. And Law Yuk-kai is a director with Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor.

This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath, Ellen Saenger.

Other segments from today's show:

Gulf Fish Deformities

The fate of Sandy Pond & fight for all ponds