Home and away: after national security law, Hongkongers contemplate a second exodus

"It feels like we lost everything in one go," said Joyce, 47, who sold the gym to a former trainer. "We love this city, but we have to leave."

The couple, who plan to open a gym in Canada, began the process of applying for a "start-up" visa for entrepreneurs last June, when anti-government demonstrations triggered by opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill swept through the city. The protests morphed into wider demands, including universal suffrage.

Both took part, especially Mark, who took to the streets for months. Their concerns about how Beijing would react were realised when the central government last month imposed legislation on Hong Kong that targets acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with life in prison for those committing the most serious offences.

Authorities in Hong Kong and on the mainland have repeatedly stressed that the law targets only a minority of residents, and that freedoms of speech and assembly will be protected. But the Luis are among those who disagree.

Mark and Joyce Lui are planning to move to Vancouver in September. Photo: Xiaomei Chen alt=Mark and Joyce Lui are planning to move to Vancouver in September. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

"We are scared that if we say the wrong thing then we might be considered to have broken the law and get arrested," Mark said. "That clearly shows freedom of expression no longer exists in Hong Kong."

They are among the estimated thousands of Hongkongers making exit plans as Beijing's tightening grip raises the prospect of a second mass exodus, following the first great wave of migration that preceded the city's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. For these residents, the long-standing question of whether their rights and freedoms would endure under "one country, two systems" has been answered in the negative with the passage of a law that critics have decried as draconian and vaguely defined.

In June, the month after Beijing unveiled the law, nearly 2,800 Hongkongers applied to the police for certificates of no criminal conviction, the most reliable indicator of those intending to emigrate " a significant rise from 1,700 applications in May and 2,370 during the same month in 2019. There were 34,480 applications for the certificates between July 2019 and this June, a period overlapping with the eruption of at-times-violent anti-government protests, compared with fewer than 24,100 the previous year.

Some have already decided to leave, further incentivised by the recent announcements of special pathways to residency or citizenship by Britain and Australia. Others are hedging their bets, torn between competing factors pushing them to stay or go. There are those who lament the changes in their city but are nonetheless determined to stay, or see no alternative but to adapt to the new reality, while some wish to move for reasons that have nothing to do with the law or politics.

Protesters against the new national security law march towards a police cordon on July 1. Photo: Sam Tsang alt=Protesters against the new national security law march towards a police cordon on July 1. Photo: Sam Tsang

Amid the uncertainty, inquiries to migration agents have soared. Willis Fu Yiu-wai, marketing director of Goldmax Associates, said he had fielded 30 to 40 calls a day since the passage of the law " triple the usual number.

"I foresee that many Hong Kong people, especially educated young people, will leave," he said. "It's because of the inquiries I receive every day " most of them are [from] people below 40 years old. Their intention is not only to leave, but they also want to seek a better place for their children to grow up."

Fu said his clients were split between those who had signed up to migrate and those who were delaying their application to see how Western countries would assist Hongkongers.

Britain has offered a pathway to citizenship for up to 3 million Hongkongers eligible to hold a British National Overseas " or BN(O) " passport, and Australia has announced that more than 10,000 temporary visa holders in the country and some future applicants will be granted a simplified route to permanent residency. The British government has been pressed to provide more details on its offer, while those looking to move to Australia on temporary skilled visas that could lead to permanent residency will have to comply with an updated skills list. United States lawmakers in June introduced legislation that would give refugee status to Hongkongers deemed at risk of persecution, while Taiwan this month opened an office to assist Hong Kong activists and businesspeople looking to emigrate.

In a survey of 890 Hongkongers carried out last month by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, 50 per cent of respondents said they had considered leaving the city. Of those who were looking towards the exit, 29 per cent chose Taiwan, making it the top pick, while the next most popular destinations were Canada (15 per cent) and Australia (13 per cent). Mainland China " a location of choice for those with favourable views towards Beijing " was selected by 12 per cent, while Britain and Japan were picked by 10 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

"The Five Eyes' assistance has created hope for some Hongkongers, with clients waiting for further announcements from those countries to see how they [would help] rather than taking immediate action to apply for a visa now," Fu said, referring to the intelligence-sharing alliance comprising the US, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Ryan Liu is one of the Hongkongers taking Australia up on its offer. The 32-year-old nurse is in the process of applying for a skilled worker visa. He had been thinking of moving since 2014, during the Umbrella movement that called for universal suffrage.

"I chose a place that would allow me to have more freedom," said Liu, who is married and also holds a BN(O) passport. He chose Australia over Britain because he had already applied for a licence to practise there.

An increasing number of his colleagues had asked him what the application process was like, he added, with some starting to take English examinations in preparation to moving overseas.

Moving abroad is a necessity for some. Jane* was photographed waving a Union flag at demonstrations last year and made speeches calling on Britain to "extend a helping hand" to protesters. While the national security law is not retroactive, she fears she might still be targeted by authorities.

"It is not safe for me to stay in Hong Kong," said the 23-year-old, who recently graduated with a degree in hotel management and hopes to get a job in hospitality. She was born in Hong Kong in 1997, and just qualified for a BN(O) passport. While she does not have any family in Britain, she plans to move with a group of five of her friends " all in their 20s " in September.

Others who are already overseas for temporary work or study are now contemplating never returning home. Sarah*, a student in Perth, said she felt she had no choice but to remain in Australia after organising protests in support of the anti-government movement.

She was also involved in the 2014 Umbrella movement, and said she had received death threats and had her personal details leaked on WeChat due to her activism in Australia. She said her concerns now extended to her parents still living in Hong Kong, who had thrown out her political books and student union T-shirts at her request, "just in case".

"They feel unsafe, they're planning to leave and they don't want me to return home either," Sarah said. "I didn't have any plans until recently. I've always wanted to get [permanent residency] so my parents could live in a better environment, but for myself I would love to work in Hong Kong after getting PR in Australia. But now I have no choice."

John*, who has been studying in Perth for the past 18 months, said he was also worried due to his activism but remained torn about returning home. "Hong Kong is beautiful," he said. "It is the place where I grew up and where I call home. My biggest concern is my family in there. We have no idea where the 'red line' is."

Although fears of diminishing freedoms again loom large, Hongkongers weighing their options today may have an easier exit route than the hundreds of thousands of residents believed to have left the city before 1997. Along with the millions of BN(O) passport holders who can now bypass normal immigration controls in Britain, some 300,000 residents hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, many of them Hongkongers who previously migrated and later returned home.

"Quite a lot of them can just purchase an air ticket," said Eric Fong, a sociology professor and migration expert at the University of Hong Kong.

A factor weighing against any immediate exodus is the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 590,000 people and infected some 13.8 million others, while bringing international travel to its knees.

But Hong Kong-based international moving company Swift Relo said travel restrictions related to the disease were simply delaying moves that had already been decided.

"We are getting quite a lot of inquiries for next year as people are getting ready, which is unusual for this time of the year," said managing director Piya Narang, with Britain, Australia and Singapore being the top three destinations.

Still, Fong from the University of Hong Kong said younger people might be less determined to leave than their parents, having not had the same direct experience of mainland China that had led their elders to flee to the city in the first place.

"It all depends on what will happen next," he said. "I think a lot of people will wait and see. We also have to bear in mind that there is a difference between intention and the actual behaviour."

This has been the experience of Andrew*, a 30-year-old freelance sports marketing consultant, who is anxiously waiting for his Canadian residency, which he applied for via the express entry programme for skilled workers. He is alone in his peer group in taking the plunge, with his friends concerned about whether they will be able to get a job abroad or even have to start a new career.

"Career aside, I am more than willing to start a new life in a country where I feel more comfortable about the future," he said. "We all know where Hong Kong is heading towards. I would rather start over earlier, rather than later."

University of Hong Kong professor Eric Fong says younger people might be less determined to leave the city as they have not had the same experience of mainland China that saw their elders flee. Photo: Sun Yeung alt=University of Hong Kong professor Eric Fong says younger people might be less determined to leave the city as they have not had the same experience of mainland China that saw their elders flee. Photo: Sun Yeung

Admissions of new permanent residents from Hong Kong jumped 75.7 per cent in January and February compared with the previous year, with 1,500 Hong Kong migrants moving to Canada in all of 2019, according to Canadian government data.

David Ley, emeritus associate with the Hong Kong Studies Initiative at Canada's University of British Columbia, said migration could see the return of the "astronaut family", in which the main breadwinner lived in Hong Kong while supporting family overseas.

"In the 1990s there was an expression in the Hong Kong community in Vancouver: 'Hong Kong for making money, Vancouver for quality of life'," he said. "The return migration to Hong Kong was chiefly to do with making money, for relatively few Hongkongers were successful in making money in Canada. That same issue will be in play when it comes to leaving in the near future."

Ley said circumstances were very similar with the Hong Kong diaspora that moved to Australia, and that he expected a similar response now as "the astronaut option would make sense to many households".

Mi Chow left Hong Kong as a teenager in 1992 to move to Toronto with her mother. After graduating from university, Chow was one of thousands who returned to the city as an adult for better job prospects in 2000.

"I thought there were more opportunities in Hong Kong. I wanted to have more challenging work so I decided to come back," said the 43-year-old, who works in recruitment.

However, she will be returning to Canada with her husband and her eight-year-old daughter this year. She wants her daughter to learn Cantonese in Hong Kong and then move back to what she considers a less intense education system.

"We set that goal before anything happened last year. I always knew that eventually we would go back," said Chow, who describes the reason for her move as non-political and her stance on the national security law as neutral.

"We are not on an extreme side so I think we are fine ... Geographically, Hong Kong is in China. That is something we cannot change, so if China has to do something in Hong Kong, then they have to because it is their territory."

Sunset in Vancouver, a popular destination for Hongkongers who have migrated in the past, as well as those looking to leave in 2020. Photo: Reuters alt=Sunset in Vancouver, a popular destination for Hongkongers who have migrated in the past, as well as those looking to leave in 2020. Photo: Reuters

Those who know what it is like to leave caution that starting a new life abroad is far from easy.

Hon Kan left Hong Kong in 1971 when he was just 17 years old to move to Edmonton in Canada to study, as his sister was already living there.

He said he was among the peaceful protesters who took part in the leftist riots that swept the city in 1967, when a labour dispute grew into larger demonstrations against British colonial rule, but he did not leave for political reasons.

He knows first-hand what it is like to move to a new country as a young man. He met his now wife, Constance Liu, on his second day in Canada, after he helped her move into the same apartment building as him. The 66-year-old recently retired after working as a medical engineer for the same company, Dow Chemical, for 40 years.

But life as a first-generation immigrant could be tough. Kan tells of experiencing discrimination in his class that had at least six ethnically Chinese graduates; none of them were able to find a summer job, while the other students were easily able to find work.

Still, he believes Canada used to be more accepting of immigrants; over the past 10 years he has seen an increase in far-right groups in the country that has spurred less tolerant attitudes.

"People see themselves as Hongkongers, but I can tell you when you are here people see you as Chinese," he said.

His son Eugene " who was born and raised in the city of Fort Saskatchewan " agrees, and is not sure whether people thinking of emigrating fully realise the complex race relations that exist in places such as Canada.

"If you were to go to Canada today ... you have to contend with this ideal approach to multiculturalism that Canada presents itself with, which I think psychologically and philosophically exists but the reality of it might not be as squeaky clean as some people might expect."

Brothers Eugene and Nate Kan (right and left, respectively) live in Hong Kong, while their father Hon lives in Edmonton, Canada, after moving from the city in 1971. Photo: Handout alt=Brothers Eugene and Nate Kan (right and left, respectively) live in Hong Kong, while their father Hon lives in Edmonton, Canada, after moving from the city in 1971. Photo: Handout

The Luis understand they might encounter discrimination in their new home.

"Our roots are [in this city], and we are pulling up those roots to go to another country where we might still get some sort of discrimination ... but still we'd rather face that discrimination than stay in Hong Kong with such fear," Joyce said.

"They cannot tell whether you are from Hong Kong or from mainland China. In Western or Caucasian eyes, you're all Chinese. They will still treat you as if you are mainland Chinese."

Even while the city was wracked by protests last year, some young Hongkongers maintained they would not leave, citing their love and sense of responsibility for Hong Kong and its uniqueness. Others have done the same since the national security law was announced.

In recent years there has been a reverse stream of migration, with people who grew up in Britain, Canada or Australia returningto Hong Kong to look for work. Among them was Eugene Kan, who graduated from university with an economics and sociology degree in 2006, and packed his bags for Hong Kong to pursue a career as a professional football player.

After playing for a season, he went on to become an editorial director of Hypebeast, a publicly traded online platform for men's streetwear based in the city, before co-founding Maekan, a digital publication and community rooted in stories around creative culture.

The 35-year-old describes feeling a sense of "Hong Kong pride" after living in the city for a number of years. While Kan is very aware of the new normal, he feels optimistic about how Hongkongers are able to adapt, and has no plans to leave.

"I've always looked at Hong Kong [as a place that] is somewhat agile in its ability to move forward," he said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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