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The Hong Kong Mass Migration Wave was one of the waves of emigration of Hong Kong residents since the Second World War, accelerated by the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist Riots and extending into the 1980s and 1990s fuelled by Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. By some estimates, the number of emigrants was in tens of thousands in this period.
Traditional ways of life in the Indigenous inhabitants villages in the New Territories collapsed at the end of WWII. Unable to earn a living in the newly industrialised economy of post-war Hong Kong, many villagers exercised their right of abode in the United Kingdom and left for Europe.
In 1967, a series of large-scale riots erupted in Hong Kong, causing social instability. These events led some of the richer Hong Kong residents to move abroad. Emigration took place to countries in Southeast Asia, South AfricaorSouth American countries. This wave did not come to a rest until the mid-1970s.
On the 19th of December 1984, the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the "Sino-British Joint Declaration", and validated the 1997 transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. The declaration prompted emigration of the Hong Kongers. The British government made it clear that Hong Kong citizens would not be granted British citizenship on the grounds that they were residing in a British colony, so instead, numerous residents sought alternate arrangements and migrated to other countries.
The Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 in Beijing triggered mass migration in the 1990s. Canada, Australia, and other Commonwealth realms were the primary destinations for migrants at the time. In particular, popular cities for migrants included Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, and London in the UK. To a lesser extent, other immigrant destinations included San Francisco and New York in the US, as well as several Asian cities including Singapore.[1] At the height of the mass migration wave, some small states like Cape Verde advertised their passport in magazines. Some foreign embassies [citation needed] took bribes for giving out passports, amounting to outright political corruption.
Some people had relocated overseas through studying abroad and staying after graduation, while others simply obtained returning residency visa from the destination country, which was issued by some countries with no conditions attached in the late 1980s, and then returned to Hong Kong. Informed estimates range from 250,000 to one million people, with the peak years of outflow between 1988 and 1994 of about 55,000 per year.
In 1990, the outflow of people reached a peak of 62,000 people or about 1% of the population. The emigration rate would reach the peak in 1992 with 66,000 people, followed by 53,000 in 1993, and 62,000 in 1994. An estimated US $4.2 billion flowed from Hong Kong to Canada directly as a result.[2]
From 1998, one year after the transfer of sovereignty, some Hong Kong-born emigrants returned to Hong Kong with foreign citizenship. The phenomenon is called『香港回流潮』(Hong-Kong returning tidal flow).
In 2011, the estimated migration rate reach the peak. In Hong Kong, over 65 percent of Hong Kong permanent residents desired to migrate to others countries, in accordance with the questionnaires originated from Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Following the implementation of a new security law on July 1, 2020, one prominent activist fled Hong Kong and sparked speculation that a large wave of emigration was imminent. Said security law has been interpreted by some as a means to persecute individuals for participating in protests.
A number of nations have moved to expedite the immigration process and/or grant refugee status to many Hong Kong emigrants, including Australia, Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[3] Australia announced that students from Hong Kong would be eligible for a 5 year temporary graduate visa after completing "eligible" tertiary studies, leading to a pathway to permanent residency after 5 years. A five year visa is also available to certain high priority temporary skilled workers [4]. Canada allows Hong Kong residents in Canada to apply for an open work permit for up to three years, and is creating a new pathway to permanent resident status for Hong Kong residents [5]. The UK announced a pathway for British Nationality (Overseas) citizens as well as certain dependents; up to three million Hong Kongers have or are eligible to obtain nationality. [6].
