TNAG-1983-FCO40-2816-Presentation-of-UK-policy-on-Hong-Kong-to-the-media-1989 — Page 53

VII:

EMIGRATION FROM HONG KONG

1.

Population mobility has long been a feature of Hong Kong: many of the territory's residents migrated from China and elsewhere and there is a well established tradition of going overseas for education, training, career development and permanent settlement.

2.

In the past two years, there have been indications that emigration from Hong Kong was rising and that a significant proportion of those leaving were skilled and professional people. After careful study of the available data, the Hong Kong Government estimate that betewe en 1981 and 1986 emigration averaged about 20,000 per year. In 1987 about 30,000 people emigrated from Hong Kong. In 1988 the total was about 45,000 of which about 11,000 held professional, administrative or managerial jobs. It is also estimated that several thousand former Hong Kong residents return to Hong Kong every year, often having acquired foreign nationality.

3.

There are likely to be a number of different reasons for these trends. Uncertainty about the future is undoubtedly one relevant factor. But there are also now greater opportunities for Hong Kong people to emigrate, particularly in the main destination countries (the number of people emigrating from all over the world to Canada, for example, rose from 7,900 in 1984 to 24,600 in 1988).

4.

Despite the outflow, the stock of skilled and professional people in Hong Kong continues to grow, mainly because of the increasing number of newly qualified people entering the job market from the universities and other tertiary institutions. Shortages of skilled personnel are being experienced by some companies in certain sectors. There would undoubtedly be a signficant impact on the economy if the present net outflow were to continue for some years. The Hong Kong Government are therefore planning a series of measures designed to contain the effects of emigration, such as more training in the areas where there are shortages of skilled people. They are also steadily improving the standard and quality of life in the territory, thereby making Hong Kong a more attractive place for people to live and work. There is of course no question of stopping people leaving Hong Kong if they so wish.

MOPA AD 3