Hong Kongers more interested in migrating than celebrating their return to China

This July 1, the elite pro Beijing of Hong Kong and the Chinese president, Xi Jinpingcelebrate under strict security measures in the city’s elephantine Convention Center the 25th anniversary of the return to China of the hitherto British colony.

But less than two weeks earlier, in that same place in the Wan Chai district, 50,000 Hong Kongers crowded into a kind of international immigration “fair” in which expert consultants on the subject offered conferences and promoted useful information on how to emigrate on their stands. to other countries, from Australia to the United Kingdom or Ireland.

There was even a stand dedicated to advising those who wanted to leave with their pets and the number of attendees at the event set a record this year since it began to be held in 2020.

That interest underscored the eagerness to leave many of the former colony’s inhabitants a quarter century after they returned to Communist Party China under the promise that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of independence for at least the next half century.

A poll of some 35,000 people conducted at the event revealed that 60% of those surveyed planned to emigrate in the next two years, and of those, 19% expected to do so in the next six months, with the UK, Canada and Australia the three most desired destinations.

The Hong Kong government, however, does not appear to be concerned about this trend.

Newly elected Chief Executive John Lee, who will be sworn in on the 1st, recently said people would return to Hong Kong once tough anti-COVID restrictions are eased, arguing that the city is a “bridge” between mainland China. and the rest of the world.

The coronavirus pandemic had already caused a stampede of locals and expatriates in recent months due to the extreme containment policy of the former colony, with one of the strictest border closures in the world.

So far this year alone, the great Asian financial center has lost more than 150,000 residents.

But the travel restrictions, which include a questionable week-long hotel quarantine for those arriving, are seen as only a short-term factor.

The great concern of Hong Kongers for the future is the political situation in the city, which has taken a drastic 180-degree turn since Beijing imposed the National Security Law in June 2020 in response to the massive anti-government protests unleashed in the 2019 for several months.

This regulation penalizes crimes such as subversion, terrorism, secession and collusion with foreign countries with penalties that can reach life imprisonment and has led to the arrest of more than 180 people since its entry into force, many of them behind bars for more a year without having been tried yet.

Basic forms of activism such as peaceful protests and chanting now carry the risk of jail time. Media outlets that denounced the situation have been forced to close, numerous civil society groups have been dismantled, and the city Parliament has been left without opposition deputies.

This tense scenario has led to an increasing number of Hong Kongers leaving their city since 2020.

Farewell dinners for friends and relatives who are leaving have become a regular thing in the calendars of the inhabitants of the former colony and students have become accustomed to arriving at class and discovering that some classmate, another one, left without saying goodbye.

“The news says that about 8,000 children have left, and that works out to an average of about 30 students per school. In mine, more than 20 have left in the last year,” said a teacher who asked not to be identified.

The educator stated that many of the people who leave do so driven by concern about the future of their children.

“Here there is less and less freedom. In the past we were not afraid to criticize the government, but now you no longer know where the line is between criticism and subversion. Parents don’t feel confident about the future,” she opined.

The availability of opportunities is also an incentive for those who want to leave their city, since since the enactment of the National Security Law, Western countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia offer migratory facilities to Hong Kongers given their high-level professional profiles. and their financial resources.

The UK-based organization Hong Kong Watch promoted this month among Canadian parliamentarians a proposal to make it easier for activists, protesters and journalists, among others, to obtain a work permit in that country.

Thus, the brain drain has become a new concern in the former colony, although there are still those who decide to stay.

This is how Max, an award-winning middle-aged screenwriter, summed it up: “Many Hongkongers fear losing this ship and leave because they see others doing it. I wonder how the political prisoners will feel watching this. My conscience does not allow me to leave.”