Top officials of the HKSAR have rightfully condemned Sunday's "anti-locust" protest in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist belt, saying the appalling behavior of a few extremists against mainland visitors was contrary to Hong Kong's true values. But we are underestimating the danger of seriously widening social divisions stemming from a growing wealth gap.

Because of de-industrialization - partly due to the high land prices - and a narrow economic base, economic growth has not helped enhance social mobility or reduced poverty in Hong Kong - as it should have. Rather, the wealth gap has widened and a growing number of people have fallen into the poverty trap. As a result, nearly 20 percent of the population, or a staggering 1.3 million of 7 million Hong Kong people, now live below the official poverty line.

The property bubble - partly due to a severe shortage in supply - that has seen prices more than double in just a few years has also priced many potential home buyers - particularly the younger generation - out of the market. This has aggravated the wealth gap and stoked anti-rich sentiment in society.

Discontent, disappointment, frustration and stress stemming from a lack of upward social mobility and the widening wealth gap is fueling anger against the establishment.

Unsurprisingly, we have witnessed a series of radical activities in the past couple of years, including provocative behavior and verbal abuse against the city's top officials and police officers, as well as protests against mainlanders. Sunday's protest in Tsim Sha Tsui was just the latest incident.

Obviously, mainland visitors are an easy target for frustrated young people to vent their anger and resentment. Of course, many angry youth can personally perceive the inconvenience brought by the influx of mainland visitors - particularly parallel traders. But they do not seem to (or even bother to) observe the huge economic benefits brought by mainland tourists in terms of stimulating the economy and creating new jobs.

By denouncing Sunday's "anti-locust" activities as actions of merely few radicals in society, government officials and other leaders have rightfully reassured visitors that Hong Kong is still a hospitable city. But we may be simply comforting ourselves in thinking that the abusive language hurled at the mainland visitors was merely a nasty way to gain media coverage. This is exactly where we are risking overlooking the threat of "mob politics".

The increased frequency, the heightened radicalism and the growing scale of such confrontational activities suggests that mob politics is developing in the community. More worrying is some radicals and opposition figures have helped in planning such activities. For example, the latest mob action on Sunday was organized by supporters of nativist legislator Gary Fan Kwok-wai, followers of radical opposition legislator Wong Yuk-man, and supporters of nativist godfather Chin Wan-kan.

These radical leaders have so far failed to promote their agendas in Hong Kong, whose people are generally moderate and law-abiding. But rising social discontent, particularly among the young, has created the perfect hotbed to engineer mob politics.

Mob activities aren't usually expected to destabilize or topple a regime, but mob politics can cause tremendous damage to economic activities, social harmony and development. The mob politics currently playing out in Thailand is a case in point, although the two situations are different.

Leaders from all sectors of society have rightfully tried to salvage Hong Kong's reputation as a hospitable city by condemning this behavior. But the only way to prevent such incidents happening again is to eradicate social discontent. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's administration has moved in the right direction by prioritizing livelihood issues, including boosting housing supply, providing subsidies to the working poor and enhancing the social safety net for the underprivileged. But we have yet to narrow the wealth gap and enhance social mobility.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 02/21/2014 page9)