In HK it all comes down to money

I FIND Carol Yeung's letter headlined, ''Think again before emigrating'' (South China Morning Post, November 25) a bit irresponsible when one thinks about those millions of poor people in Hong Kong.

I am one of those people who do not want to live under Communist control and I have no faith in our future.

However, I am unable to leave because I am poor.

The difficulties of living overseas listed by Miss Yeung are open to argument.

Admittedly, life is tough as an immigrant; so my friends and relatives have told me many times. But they live in their new, adopted countries happily, even though they are poor. As voters, they can even help to get rid of an unpopular government without getting shot.

Social discrimination in a foreign land is inevitable. But as the Chinese community grows in size in a country, the severity of this discrimination will fall.

I would rather be socially discriminated against by foreigners, than be politically discriminated against by my own race.

The poor of Hong Kong have been second class citizens under British colonial rule and they will, sadly, remain second class citizens after 1997 under Chinese rule.

I haven't seen a poor Hong Kong person being honoured by the Chinese Government in any way.

We are more aware of the violent attacks on Asians in the US, because we are Asians. The same applies to Germans in Germany, talking about attacks on German tourists in Miami.

History has told me that a peaceful power transition is very unlikely under a dictatorship. I do worry very much about what is going to happen.

Then there is Daya Bay. If a government attempts to suppress the news of a factory fire, then the people of Hong Kong will never know if anything ever goes wrong in a nuclear plant.

I can see the post-1997 Hong Kong as being a haven for businessmen. They will not have to fear the Communists. After all, the brilliant concept of ''One country, two systems'' was designed to preserve the Hong Kong system, or that part of the Hong Kong system which breeds entrepreneurship.

Businessmen and pro-business politicians will be the most important people in post-1997 Hong Kong.

As a poor nobody, I'd rather risk the disadvantages of being an immigrant than staying in Hong Kong.

I will not hesitate to leave if I ever have the opportunity.

P. KWAN Kowloon