Hong Kong's Department of Health announced a decision to limit the number of non-resident children getting vaccinations Wednesday. From April 1, the city's Maternal and Child Health Centers will only receive 120 new non-resident children each month. The decision was applauded by the Hong Kong residents instantly.

Although no detailed explanation has been given, many attribute the decision to the recent vaccine scandal and the following panic in the Chinese mainland.

A few years ago, the Hong Kong government was criticized because of panic buying of baby formula by the mainland shoppers.

Some worried that panic inoculation would also hit Hong Kong after such suggestions appeared online. Thus, the Hong Kong government has set restrictions in advance to fend off criticism.

Hong Kong's population is just a tiny part of that of the mainland. Indeed, too many mainland children will affect the normal functions of the Hong Kong institutions. The mainland-Hong Kong interdependency may bring both positive effects and realistic concerns to Hong Kong.

Mainland needs better understanding of Hong Kong's mixed feeling about its economic reliance on the mainland. Despite the benefit, the city also tries to minimize the negative effects.

Local residents would like the city to function as a bridge between the mainland and the world, benefiting its service industry. Meanwhile, they are also worried too many mainland visitors would crush the city. They are hoping for an optimal result. But it's difficult to attain such a result.

People from both Hong Kong and the mainland should accept this dilemma and try to understand each other. The clashes should not cause any harm to the people's sentiments or escalate into political issues.

The vaccination limitation order is issued by the Hong Kong government in response to local concern toward influx of mainland visitors seeking vaccine. It's a natural reaction, to which public opinion on both sides shouldn't read too much.

With the rapid expansion of the middle class, the mainland may sometimes find it a tough task to cater to the surging demand for higher living standards.

It is understandable that some, for medical and food safety, have turned to overseas services.

Nevertheless, panic in the mainland is a result of misleading public opinion to some extent. The government and mainstream society should communicate candidly with the public to soothe their feelings in the special circumstances.

Instead of turning to overseas services, China should try to lower the safety risks within the country. This is the only solution. Those who seek overseas services are mainly from large cities, where the medical safety risks are very low. We hope that the tensions over vaccination will be eased as quickly as possible.