Since July 2020, at least 300,000 people have left Hong Kong. In the first three months of 2022, the number amounted to 140,000. An opinion poll by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute in late March this year shows that 24 percent of the respondents had plans of emigration. Among supporters of the pro-democracy camp, the proportion was 35 percent; among those who did not support the pro-democracy movement, the proportion was 17 percent.
It is generally expected that the coming two years would be the peak of Hong Kong’s present wave of emigration. People need time to make plans and preparations. The political situation will likely tighten in the foreseeable future, and the economy will probably not do well. The above opinion survey reflects these trends. Like most Hong Kong people, I have many friends who have recently left the territory, and I have had many discussions with them about their life in a new country….