'Views shared by locals or mainlanders carry same weight,' says HK mainland affairs chief

Hong Kong's constitutional and mainland affairs chief Erick Tsang said that opinions on Hong Kong share the same weight, regardless of whether they are expressed on local or mainland Chinese social media, after lawmakers raised concerns regarding “Xiaohongshu dictatorship”.

This comes as mainland residents usually share and comment on content related to Hong Kong current affairs, including pop culture, social customs and tourist attractions on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Douyin and Weibo. Some of these posts may lead to heated discussion and feedback from netizens. 

Lawmaker Paul Tse Wai Chun cited concerns from citizens during a Legislative Council panel on 17 January that the authorities prioritise favouring mainlanders over addressing local residents’ demands.

Tse claimed that many mainland netizens had expressed their complaints against Hong Kong through Xiaohongshu, with some mainland bloggers describing "bashing Hong Kong" as a kind of "political correctness" (現在噴香港已經是一種政治正確了), and the relevant contents had aroused enormous reverberations from the government.

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Tse said he had received feedback from citizens regarding the government's tendency to take online remarks made by mainlanders very seriously. Examples cited include the accusation made by a passenger against Cathay Pacific cabin crew members for discriminating against non-English passengers, and complaints from netizens on Xiaohongshu regarding the arrangement of the New Year's Eve firework show.

“On the contrary, the persistent views of many members of the public in Hong Kong have not received the same level of attention and response from the official authorities over a long period of time such as calls for the suspension of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions [...] during periods of economic downturn, tax rebates, withdrawal of the ‘harsh measures’, stamp duty reduction [...],” Tse said.

“This will easily lead to the stereotypes and even ‘Xiaohongshu dictatorship’ in Hong Kong,” Tse added.

In response, Tsang, said: “The Mainland Offices of the government and Information Services Department (ISD) have been keeping abreast of the reports and views related to Hong Kong on digital media and social platforms in the Mainland, responding to them when necessary and referring them to the relevant bureaux and departments for follow up as appropriate.”

Tsang also said that views on Hong Kong, whether expressed on local or Mainland social media, carry equal weight to the government.

“The government will continue to listen carefully to the views of all parties and continue to enhance various policy measures in a pragmatic manner, with a view to facilitating the overall development of Hong Kong and enhancing people's sense of happiness and contentment,” Tsang added.

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In fact, the Hong Kong government has been in a close relationship with Xiaohongshu in recent years. Leveraging the tie-up between the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Xiaohongshu, Hong Kong has generated more than 200 million exposure for Hong Kong tourism.  

Algernon Yau, secretary for commerce and economic development, said previously that this came from the strategic partnership between the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Xiaohongshu to launch the "Hong Kong Travel Time Machine" (香港旅行時光機) and "Art Travel to Hong Kong" (藝起遊香港) programmes in the first half of this year. 

“Since reopening, Hong Kong has topped the list of outbound travel destinations for users of the mainland online platform Xiaohongshu,” Yau said.

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