Fears of Hong Kong brain drain amid months of violent anti-government protests and concern over national security law

The city’s social unrest and now a national security law fuelling US-China tensions have sparked concerns of an exodus of talent

Recruitment consultants point to a trend of people looking for roles overseas that has been accelerating since Lunar New Year

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Published: 8:00am, 6 Jun 2020Updated: 1:27pm, 6 Jun 2020

After 38 years in Hong Kong, Tamim Batcha is leaving the city of his birth to start a new life in Australia.

The Hong Kong resident and the Australian he married in December last year have decided not to start a family in the city, hoping for a better quality of life overseas.

The couple are among a rush of young professionals, both Hongkongers and expatriates, moving overseas, says David Webb, a long-time city investor and founder of Webb-site, which provides reports on the city’s affairs.

“There is absolutely a brain drain happening in the city right now,” Webb tells the Post.

Hong Kong has been rocked by almost a year of anti-government demonstrations and is bracing for more turmoil.

Flights have been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Photo: Winson Wong

Beijing’s move to impose national security legislation, which aims to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, was followed by the United States declaring the city was no longer an autonomous part of China.