China’s sweeping national security laws are forcing the citizens of Hong Kong to flee to other nations, which has increased concerns within its government and its business sector, which tends to lean in favour of Beijing.
As of the end of June, a total of 140,500 Hong Kongers had applied for a special British visa that paves the way for citizenship, as noted by Asia Nikkei. According to official data published in August, the population totalled 7.29 million as of the end of June, down roughly 120,000 from a year earlier, which is the biggest drop since tracking began in 1961.
“The government does not have direct statistics on the emigration of Hong Kong residents,” a government spokesperson said when the latest population data was announced. “Being an international city, Hong Kong’s population has always been mobile.” The government here highlighted a “natural decrease” from deaths outpacing births. But a large portion of the decline stemmed from the net outflow abroad of 110,000 residents over the course of a year. Since Hong Kong’s population peaked at the end of 2019, the number of residents aged fewer than 20 has fallen by 97,000, with declines of 235,000 for those in their 20s to 30s and 84,000 for those in their 40s to 50s. As the Chinese government tightens control over Hong Kong schools, many families with children are relocating to countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada in search of greater educational freedom.
Hong Kongers born before the UK returned the territory to China in 1997 qualify for British National (Overseas) status. Issuances of BNO passports between 2019—when large-scale pro-democracy protests flared anew—and 2021 reached 7.6 times the tally for the three years prior. In January 2021, the UK began accepting applications for a new visa for BNOs, which will eventually qualify them for British citizenship.
Many have taken advantage of this visa to leave permanently, Asia Nikkei reported. Meanwhile, those remaining are growing grayer. The number of residents 60 and older has increased by 187,000. Official data showed that the working population in Hong Kong has fallen nearly 6 per cent in three years to 3.76 million. In addition to the exodus, strict coronavirus restrictions have squeezed the flow of new professionals moving in.
Hong Kong approved 5,701 standard work visas in the first six months of this year, down 70 per cent from the pace of 2019. In an August report by the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, 13 per cent of its members reduced their workforce in Hong Kong, while 35 per cent moved some or all of their Hong Kong operations elsewhere. Around 70 per cent said it was “extremely difficult” to hire and retain foreign workers in Hong Kong,Asia Nikkei reported. Japanese companies operating here also expressed concern over the talent drain in a July survey published by the Japan External Trade Organization. “We are having trouble replacing midlevel employees in their 30s and 40s with school-age children after they quit,” one said. In addition, Hong Kong still requires travellers to be quarantined in a hotel even as the US, Europe, and other parts of Asia ease COVID-19 restrictions.
Although the Chinese government here is considering a shorter quarantine and other adjustments to its zero-COVID policy, continued travel curbs are likely to further undercut Hong Kong’s appeal as an international business hub.
The Chinese government, while announcing the 2021 data, also said that “implying an emigration tide in Hong Kong solely from the increase in the net outflow of residents is a sweeping generalization”.