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career development and permanent settlement.
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
52. In late 1987 and early 1988, there were indications
that emigration was rising and that a significant
proportion of those leaving were skilled and professional
people. This was naturally a cause for concern and in
May 1988 the Hong Kong Government established a task
force to obtain the clearest possible picture of current
emigration trends. After careful study of the available
data, it estimated that between 1981 and 1986 emigration
averaged about 20,000 per year. In 1987 the level of
emigration was about 30,000 and in 1988 it was about
45,000. Of those emigrating in 1988, the task force
estimated that about 11,000 held professional,
administrative and managerial jobs. It was also
estimated that several thousand former Hong Kong
residents return to Hong Kong every year, often having
acquired foreign nationality. The net loss of qualified
people is therefore somewhat less than the numbers of
those emigrating.
53. There are likely to be a number of different reasons
Uncertainty about the future is
for these trends.
undoubtedly one factor in people's decisions to emigrate,
though of course the traditional reasons remain valid.
It is also relevant that there are now greater
opportunities for Hong Kong people to emigrate,
particularly in the main destination countries: for
example, the number of people emigrating to Canada has
risen from 7,900 in 1984 to 24,600 in 1988.
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