More Hongkongers Fleeing for Canada

The political and economic situation in Hong Kong is making people leave

Is Canada ready for a second influx of Hongkongers?

The first happened in the 1980s with fears of 1997 looming, but now with high living costs, the reality that China is not retaining the "one country, two systems" promise, and the Hong Kong government doing Beijing's bidding rather than its local residents', many Hong Kong people are looking for the exits, particularly Canada.

There is a 30 percent increase in applications to emigrate to Canada, as official figures show 1,561 people applied for permanent residency there. Currently there is an estimated 300,000 people in Hong Kong who hold Canadian passports.

The 2014 Occupy protests led to more people emigrating

If they leave en masse, it could mean a severe brain drain in Hong Kong, as most of them are from well-educated and middle class families.

The Canadian government has seen 1,206 Hongkongers applying for residency in 2016, 1,092 in 2015, 1,481 in 2014 (the year of the Occupy protests), 977 in 2013, and 963 in 2012.

Hong Kong parents are sending their children to Canada to study even if they don't have Canadian passports.

Last year a record 1,270 Hongkongers were admitted as permanent Canadian residents, the biggest influx since 1997. That contrasts with 630 in 2016.

David Ley, professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia says there was a "clear demoralization" about the future when he interviewed educated Hongkongers.

Geography professor David Ley of UBC

"Largely it was to do with fears of decreasing freedoms and declining human rights. A few were encouraging their children to leave and wanting to leave themselves. I think [having Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as the city's leader] is a symptom, not the cause," he said.

"Of course, for young people, there is also the impossible burden of the housing market. That has also led to some out-migration of young adults from Vancouver, another high-priced market."

Hongkongers will find real estate in Vancouver slightly cheaper than Hong Kong, but what will they do for jobs? A few months ago a friend told me that her friend, a senior HR manager, is ready to emigrate to Calgary, where her husband is from. She is even prepared to work as a cashier in a supermarket just so that her kid can go to school there. 

My friend also wants to leave Hong Kong, feeling the political climate is not promising, but she doesn't have the means to emigrate. 

How can you reassure her and say it's OK to stay here?

Lessons Learned from Rocky Ride

One of 22 passengers on AC 088 who was sent to hospital to treat injuries

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says two investigators are continuing to  look into what happened when severe turbulence hit an Air Canada flight 088 from Shanghai to Toronto where the flight was diverted to Calgary.

Twenty-one passengers were sent to hospital with seriously injuries, while the rest were eventually flown back to Toronto.

Described as "the flight from hell", the 332 passengers and 19 crew experienced 40 minutes of severe turbulence, estimated to be when the plane was over Alaska. Some passengers reported people were thrown out of their seats and hit the ceiling.

At one point oxygen masks came down from the ceiling

If that is the case, then they were the ones who did not wear seat belts. It is believed many of them were probably Chinese.

Several flight attendants have told me over the years how difficult it is to deal with Chinese passengers, particularly from mainland China.

The flight attendants tell stories of parents changing their baby's diapers on the fold down table, or handing plastic cups filled with warm yellow liquid and dirty diapers, and the usual of going to the washroom during turbulence, or jumping out of their seats as soon as the plane touches down.

One who works for a Canadian airline told me today that he has to remind passengers that while he understands they may need to pee, going to the loo while the airplane passes through turbulence puts them at risk.

There was a big mess after the turbulence

He basically said if he was working during severe turbulence like the Air Canada flight, he would not be risking his life to go down the aisle to make sure everyone had their seat belts on. "That's what the seat belt sign is for."

The passengers who were severely injured cannot sue the airline because they were forewarned in Chinese (Putonghua), English and French to wear their seat belts ahead of time.

Hopefully the news of this Air Canada flight will be a strong reminder to all passengers that they really need to buckle up. They aren't necessarily going to fall over, but they might fall out of their chairs and up onto the ceiling...