TNAG-1729-FCO40-2442-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 137

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Of course, there are also losses as graduates are among

those who emigrate, and gains when some of them return

after obtaining a foreign passport. Taking all these

factors into account, and after making a series of heroic

assumptions on such matters as the proportion of those

going overseas to study who successfully graduate, what

proportion of them return to Hong Kong, what proportion of

emigrants, and returned emigrants, are graduates, our best

guess is that in 1987, our community achieved a net gain

in the number of graduates of the order of 3,000.

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On the surface, that figure may seem

encouraging. But there is no room for complacency. A

fresh graduate gained does not equate immediately with an

experienced man lost. And I would be the first to admit that our information on the situation is at best patchy,

to Tally

and less than wholly reliable. The reason Hong Kong

Government does not have comprehensive figures is because

of the complete freedom of movement enjoyed by Hong Kong

people

citizens and the mobility of the population. We need no

permission to travel; no approval to go to this or that

place: no need to account to anyone for our movements.

The success of a Hong Kong person's desire to emigrate is

predicated only on his ability to obtain approval from the

He needs no permission from us.

destination country,

P47So the only statistics