Opinion | Hong Kong exodus: Beijing is certainly not losing sleep over it

Name: BN(O) passport holders flee Hong Kong for new life in the UK, fearing Beijing’s tightening control
Uploaded: 2021-07-05T00:30:16.000Z
Duration: 6 min 15 s
Description: BN(O) passport holders flee Hong Kong for new life in the UK, fearing Beijing’s tightening control

Hongkongers are free to pronounce ‘one country, two systems’ dead, just as they are free to vote with their feet. But know that their personal feelings have little relevance to the government’s implementation of ‘one country, two systems’

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A view of the Hong Kong International Airport on June 30. Photo: Felix Wong

Alice Wu

Published: 8:30am, 5 Jul 2021Updated: 8:30am, 5 Jul 2021

There are no numbers yet, but chances are, many of us know at least a family which has recently called it quits on Hong Kong. And for some of us, it might feel almost apocalyptic.

A few countries’ newly relaxed immigration policies for Hongkongers have encouraged many who might not have considered emigrating otherwise; they never felt they had the option to leave, and so quickly. Besides, the West’s welcome mat may be temporary, so they’d better move when they can.

“Why haven’t the Hong Kong government and Beijing reflected on the reasons behind the exodus?” This is a question that has been asked quite a lot lately.

Unfortunately, the question is irrelevant because it assumes a level of care for individual choices that is simply not there. As a Post report puts it: “Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po shrugged off decisions to leave or stay as ultimately personal in nature”. Instead, Chan was quoted as saying: “We are convinced Hong Kong’s institutional strengths and core competences remain strong.”

In other words, we in Hong Kong are free to disagree and vote with our feet, but imagining the government would be sorry to see some of us go is simply too naive.

06:15

BN(O) passport holders flee Hong Kong for new life in the UK, fearing Beijing’s tightening control

And as for Beijing, it’s safe to say little sleep is being lost over the estimated 322,000 Hong Kong residents with British National (Overseas) passports who are likely to take London up on its immigration offer by 2025. After all, there are 1.4 billion people in the whole of China, whose “feelings” will always come first with Beijing.

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