Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam shrugs off scenes of residents leaving at airport, says city has ‘prosperous future’ ahead

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says that with help of Beijing, national security law, this is ‘best time’ to be in Hong Kong

Remarks were in response to scenes of passengers boarding flights to Britain, which has established new path to citizenship for some Hongkongers

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People pack the check-in area for their flight to Britain at Hong Kong’s International Airport on July 18, 2021. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:02pm, 20 Jul 2021Updated: 9:34am, 21 Jul 2021

Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday brushed off recent scenes at the airport suggesting an exodus of residents, adding that she would tell anyone considering leaving that the city would continue to prosper with Beijing’s support and the help of the national security law.

Asked to address the apparent wave of departures at her weekly press briefing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said her government held no official position on the phenomenon.

“Every now and then in the history of Hong Kong, there are such emigration trends,” Lam said.

“But if you really ask me to say something to those who are seeking to emigrate or have already emigrated, I would tell them Hong Kong has a prosperous future.”

Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the press on Tuesday. Photo: Nora Tam

Lam pointed to the roles laid out for Hong Kong by Beijing under its Greater Bay Area plan – an initiative to integrate the financial hub, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into an economic and business powerhouse – as well as its 14th five-year plan, China’s new development blueprint.

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