A survey has China worried about growing disillusionment among the residents of Hong Kong and the possibility of the island nation staring at a population exodus eventually exceeding a million at the end of the next five years.
Political issues and the gradual erosion of personal freedoms and human rights are as much the primary reasons for the exodus as lack of living space and reducing trust in the local Government. At least a fifth of the island’s population is thinking of or currently in the process of emigrating.
The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a telephone survey to get their views on emigration from the island following the imposition of the draconian national security law. Nearly 44 per cent of the respondents said they would emigrate the moment they get the chance to. Thirty-five per cent of them have already begun preparations to that end. Most of them would prefer going to three places - the United Kingdom, Australia and Taiwan.