Hong Kong must improve its diversity as it ushers in a new chapter

Are you “a stayer or a quitter”?

For Singaporeans – and indeed for many Hongkongers who keep an eye on developments in the city state – this question surely must ring a bell.

It harks back to 2002, when Singapore’s prime minister at the time, Goh Chok Tong, criticised younger citizens for leaving the country when the going got tough.

“Look yourself in the mirror and ask: ‘Am I a stayer or a quitter? Am I a fair-weather Singaporean or an all-weather Singaporean?’,” Goh said.

Exit rate for Hong Kong expats fast outpacing number of foreigners moving in

Expectedly, his remarks caused many citizens to recoil. He later said: “If you stand up for Singapore, no matter where you are, you are not a quitter”.

The mini-controversy came to mind recently amid discussions surrounding the exodus of expatriates in Hong Kong.

The leavers, who are primarily from the West based on anecdotes, have left the city having grown jaded by its recent political turmoil and the authorities’ unflinching stance on maintaining a “dynamic zero-Covid” policy.

Many are said to have made Singapore their new home. A senior official there this week said the island state had benefited from talent movement amid a “flight to quality”.

The pessimism about Hong Kong can’t be said to be pervasive.

As a colleague reported last weekend, many Asian residents remain hopeful about the city’s prospects.

On the balance, I would say that I, too, believe there is hope for a better age in this city.

As the new administration readies itself for the task of forging a “new chapter” that guides the city from stability to prosperity, I hope there is eminent focus on keeping the city inclusive, not just for its native-born residents, but for all “stayers”, too.

That means taking concrete steps, not mere platitudes, to address discrimination based on ethnicity, sexuality and income strata.

This city’s army of gig workers, many of whom are of South Asian descent, urgently need better welfare and job protection.

There is also far more that the government can do for migrant domestic workers, without whom so many Hong Kong households would be rudderless.

As Manisha Wijesinghe of the NGO Help for Domestic Workers wrote recently, it is no longer enough to see migrant workers as an afterthought in Hong Kong’s future. They must be given the same consideration as any other community.

Hong Kong’s transition to a new chapter is an opportunity to make the city a better home for all who have stayed, not just a few – and hopefully, that will go some way in rebuilding its reputation as a world city.