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Where do Hong Kongers want to go?
Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore or the USA.
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More than 40 per cent of Hongkongers want to emigrate amid ongoing protests, survey finds
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Verna Yu in Hong Kong
Fri 29 May 2020 07.16 BST
Web searches for emigration rose ten-fold after news came through about China’s approaching national security laws.
As China’s parliament approved controversial national security legislation for Hong Kong, many local residents were selling assets, dumping shares and planning to move abroad while welcoming possible US sanctions.
Many Hong Kongers say they are shocked and overwhelmed with anger and helplessness as they see their freedoms being eroded and fear their city will descend into a police state. But many also say they welcome the US’s response and possible sanctions.
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Elsa Li, 48, a marketing executive and mother of one, said as soon as the news of the national security law came out, she converted most of the family savings into US dollars, sold her Hong Kong and China shares and bought US stocks. She also immediately started filling in forms to apply for emigration.
The number of keyword searches on Google for “emigration” in Chinese surged ten-fold in the hours after news of the national security legislation came out last week.
For more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/29/no-cards-left-hong-kong-residents-sell-up-and-search-for-way-out-as-china-cements-grip?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=soc_568&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1590737919
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The Straits Times
US not top destination for rich Hong Kongers looking to emigrate
PUBLISHED OCT 10, 2019, 5:00 AM SGT
NEW YORK • As protests in Hong Kong intensified this year, Los Angeles immigration lawyer Bernard Wolfsdorf anticipated “a new wave of immigration” to the United States. So he went to China to meet regional immigration advisers.
They told him not to get excited.
“What I heard is, while many are leaving Hong Kong, the US isn’t their No. 1 destination,” Mr Wolfsdorf said.
When things go sideways around the globe, the US has traditionally served as a centre of safety and security, particularly for the world’s wealthy.
The US is already home to more Hong Kongers than any economy outside of China, and recent data has suggested that more are looking to leave. Applications for a key emigration document, the “good citizenship card”, are up 54 per cent in the past year.
But anti-immigrant political rhetoric, high-profile cases of gun violence and impending changes to the “investor visa” programme have encouraged Hong Kong’s would-be emigres to consider other alternatives such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan.
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Among them, the most popular destinations were Canada and Australia, with at least 18 per cent of respondents each, followed by Taiwan (11 per cent) and Singapore (5 per cent). The US was the top choice for 2.9 per cent of those considering leaving.
Australia is a favourite for clients of Mr John Hu, founder and principal consultant at John Hu Migration Consulting in Hong Kong.
The country’s advantages include a small time difference with China and a mild climate.
Canada is also popular, Mr Hu said, especially for clients who want to follow family members who had emigrated there.
However, family ties also make the US attractive. So does the EB-5 investor visa programme, which offers residency to anyone able and willing to make a US$500,000 (S$690,000) investment in a business or other project that creates jobs. But from Nov 21, the minimum investment will rise to US$900,000, part of a reform of the EB-5 programme.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/us-not-top-destination-for-rich-hong-kongers-looking-to-emigrate
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weehingthong 