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Hong Kong national security law
Hong KongSociety

National security law: five Hong Kong residents on why they are seeking a new life abroad

  • No ‘exodus’ yet despite buzz over emigration following new national security law
  • Five with plans to leave say they want a better future for their children, or more freedom

Reading Time:5 minutes
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While it is still too early to tell how many Hongkongers will seek to emigrate following adoption of the city’s new national security law, five who have made up their mind to do so spoke to the Post about their decisions. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Danny Mok
Hong Kong’s new national security law, drawn up and passed by Beijing last month, sparked talk of citizens taking flight from the city.

There was an immediate buzz over a possible “exodus” of Hongkongers eager to avoid what some saw as Beijing’s tightening grip on their city, and emigration consultants reported a spike in enquiries.

Britain has made it easier for nearly 3 million Hongkongers who hold British National (Overseas) Passports and their close family members to settle there, while Australia has pledged to provide 10,000 Hongkongers on student and temporary visas a pathway to permanent residence.
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Despite the talk of mass departures, analysts say it remains too early to tell how many will eventually pick up and go. Some, however, have already begun making plans. Five Hongkongers determined to leave share their reasons and their fears with the Post’s Danny Mok.

Peter (an alias), a teacher who plans to emigrate, said he was shocked that his 14-year-old daughter found it necessary to delete her Instagram account after the new national security law went into effect. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Peter (an alias), a teacher who plans to emigrate, said he was shocked that his 14-year-old daughter found it necessary to delete her Instagram account after the new national security law went into effect. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
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Case 1: Pushed to go, teacher says: ‘It’s a different world now’

Primary schoolteacher Peter,* 44, was astonished when his 14-year-old daughter deleted her Instagram account on July 1, hours after Hong Kong’s new national security law took effect.

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