In December 2010, when a snowstorm paralysed the London Heathrow Airport, many Hong Kong students who came home for holidays were stranded at the airport.[13] According to a Ming Pao article, they stayed in the banquet rooms of hotels or slept in the airport. During that period, those Hong Kong students complained continuously about the situation and that the banquet rooms were like concentration camps. At the same time, the parents strongly requested the government to assist those students. The article brands the students as "Kong kids". The article blames both the parents and the foreign domestic helpers for the behavior of the students.[13]
According to a survey by People's Daily Online in 2010, almost half of the parents who responded said that their children cannot eat, bathe or dress themselves independently and 15% of the respondents even said their children could not use the toilet independently. This survey attributed this to "Kong kids".[15]
A survey done by the Sing Tao Daily in 2010 "found that nearly 90% of parents hired foreign helpers to help their children".[12] The article states this to be a cause of the creation of "Kong kids".[12]
On 9 July 2011, a video entitled Tai Po Impolite Kong Kid Scolding Parents (大埔超級城無禮小學雞當街鬧父母) was filmed by witnesses to the incident, posted on websites like YouTube, and was reported by the media.[16][17] In the three-minute video, a young boy with his hands on his hips shouted and condemned his parents for "forcing" him to accompany them to the Tai Po supermarket. He threatened to call the police and despite a surrounding crowd, spoke foul language when his parents asked him to be quiet. A passer-by, unable to stand the child's behaviour, gave the child HK$20 so that he could take a taxi home and stop harassing his parents.