Another Academic Hastily Flees Hong Kong

Chung wrote he was "reluctantly" leaving Hong Kong

It was disheartening to see another academic leave Hong Kong after he had been visited by the national security police. Political scientist Chung Kim-wah wrote a long post on his Facebook page with pictures of the empty departure area of Hong Kong International Airport.

He said he has to "reluctantly" leave Hong Kong for the UK, but didn't go into details. Instead he wrote about feeling bad about having to leave older parents behind and apologised for not being able to properly say goodbye to people.

"After balancing different factors and considerations, I have no choice but to make this decision," he wrote, and added he would live abroad f\or "a period of time".

Chung's picture of an empty departure area

Chung is the deputy CEO of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, and was assistant professor of the Department of Applied Sciences until January 2020.

In his Facebook post, he said he initially did not think of migrating:

"I was born and raised in Hong Kong. A vast majority of my loved ones are in Hong Kong. I view Hong Kong as the place that cultivated me, and since I was young, I made it my ambition to contribute to Hong Kong and improve society," he wrote.

"Now I can only hope that the skies will be broader, the air fresher... and that I don't have to think about whether the red lines that move arbitrarily will one day target me."

In an article published in Ming Pao on Sunday night, Chung said that he had met national security police but did not elaborate. When asked by the newspaper if this was the reason why he left Hong Kong, he referred to his Facebook post describing his departure as "fleeing the chaos of the Qin dynasty" -- an expression alluding to the turmoil of China's first empire.

Harris was another high profile person who left

Chung's announcement comes two days after he publicly appeared at a PORI news conference about a poll on the public awareness of cannabis products in Hong Kong. 

It seems the national security police are still busy visiting people despite the pandemic. In early March the former head of the Hong Kong Bar Association Paul Harris had a chat with the national security police in Wan Chai earlier and given a warning over an alleged breach of the national security law. Harris would only confirm to Reuters that he had left the city to visit his mother in England.

Harris is a prominent human rights lawyer who was representing two former lawmakers charged in organising the primaries in 2020, and he has been the subject of attacks over the past year.

He expressed concern about the city's rule of law and said the national security law, which was implemented on June 30, 2020, was inconsistent with the Basic Law.

"I am not against the principle of having national security laws, which most countries have for legitimate reasons," he wrote in an article on the Bar Association's website at the time.

"But the Hong Kong NSL excludes certain officials from all legal challenge for their actions."

Beijing claimed Harris was "cheering for independence advocates", and said he was unfit to chair the Bar Association.

Beijing Takes Over Anti-Epidemic Work in HK

Does Lam regret how she has handled the pandemic now?

Things don't look good when you have over 4,200 infections reported today, over 7,000 preliminary, but more importantly, when Party Secretary General Xi Jinping is personally concerned and tells Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor she has to work harder to contain the virus and maintain social stability.

Word came down that Xi asked Vice-Premier Han Zheng, the top state leader overseeing the city's affairs, to relay to Lam the president's "concern about the pandemic situation in the city and his care for Hong Kong residents".

Xi has personally voiced concerns over HK

Beijing will now have more oversight over anti-epidemic measures, creating another layer of bureaucracy, basically another layer of bosses to placate. The group will be made up of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, as well as the National Health Commission, and will involve Beijing authorities and experts, as well as the Guangdong and local governments.

Xi stressed that Hong Kong "must earnestly take the main responsibility, and to make it the overriding priority to stabilise and control the epidemic as soon as possible".

"Authorities must mobilise all forces and resources that can be mobilised, take all necessary measures and protect Hong Kong people's lives and health, as well as ensure Hong Kong's social stability," Xi was quoted as saying.

"The relevant central and local authorities must fully support and assist the Hong Kong government in doing its anti-epidemic work well."

Lam responded with "heartfelt gratitude" to Xi, and admitted the local healthcare system was overloaded. 

A record 4,285 cases, 7,000 preliminary

Han told Lam that she should implement Xi's instructions, which include boosting testing capacity, procuring rapid test kits, and other medical equipment, supporting the construction of isolation and medical facilities, ensuring the supply of necessities, such as fresh food, and sending coronavirus experts to Hong Kong to help.

We already have a lot of very good infectious disease experts... they just can't agree with each other, while Lam does not rein them in or at least make sure they are all on the same page.

Nevertheless, many of them have already suggested a citywide lockdown to clamp down on the virus mainland-style, and yet Lam refuses to do this.

But with Beijing now getting involved, it may get to this point.

Does Lam now see that her chances of running for chief executive again are becoming slimmer and slimmer by the hour?

There were 4,285 infections today, and sadly nine deaths, including the three-year-old girl who passed yesterday. 

These elderly patients outside must be freezing

This evening after dinner I walked along the harbourfront and it was quite windy. As long as I kept moving I was warm, but what about those elderly patients lying on gurneys outside hospitals waiting to get in? They must be freezing to death. Won't be surprised if there are cases of pneumonia tomorrow.

Meanwhile this afternoon one infectious disease expert, Professor Ben Cowling of the University of Hong Kong was interviewed by the Asia Society. 

A few points he made include: He projects the fifth wave will peak in about three weeks from now, when over half of the population will be infected with the virus. This will unfortunately mean seeing more fatalities, and so Cowling urged people, including children who haven't gotten vaccinated to do so.

In the first wave children did not seem to be affected by Covid-19, but they are now getting sick with Omicron, and so he highly urges them to get the jab. Cowling again pushed for seniors to get vaccinated, precious time was lost last year when elderly people did not get vaccinated, and hinted the government did not do enough to push up the inoculation rates in this age group. 

He does not see the point in having a vaccine mandate now because the rising numbers of cases may have prodded people to get jabbed now.

Cowling says fifth wave may peak in three weeks

Another suggestion Cowling made was for rapid antigen tests be made widely available. He is currently stuck in the UK and everyone can get lots of these RAT tests delivered to their homes. People can take these tests and if they are positive to isolate immediately or for everyone else in the household to get tested to prevent further spread in the community. 

Children in the UK take these tests every morning before going to school so that they can attend classes; Cowling says there is a risk they could become positive later in the day, but for the most part it allows education to continue and believes this is a good thing.

This evening there are reports that all Hong Kong residents will be tested maybe in early March three times. How this will be implemented has yet to be revealed, or revealed at all. It could be sprung on us one day.

Regardless it shows the local government has been completely swept aside, unclear of what needs to be done, let alone execute properly. This is what happens when there is no effective opposition, no grassroots activists, and media to point out what should be done. 

Lam and her administration have wasted lots of time, wasted lots of money -- the December 19 free rides day for starters -- and not listened to experts and figured out how to protect Hongkongers in the best way possible.

For the rest of us, it is only a matter of time before we get infected one way or another. This government has failed us. We are on our own.

An Upcoming Election Not Many Know About

Hong Kong will have an election soon, did you know?

Hong Kong will have its first election for the Legislative Council since the electoral system was overhauled on December 12, but ask people if they know who's on the ballot and they'd probably reply that they didn't.

The changes to the electoral system include adding 20 more seats to the legislature's previous 70, but the number of directly elected lawmakers has decreased from 35 to 20. 

Pro-democracy parties criticised the move as a way to silence dissent and make it harder for them to run; in the end they decided there was no point in running, which will further change the political landscape.

Number of directly-elected seats down to 20

There is no more intense campaigning or rallies, only the odd leaflet handed out and no one cares to grab one either.

A survey on November 24 by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found of the 838 people questioned, 60 percent did not know any of the candidates running in their geographic constituency, while 40 percent knew at least one.

In addition, 52 percent of them plan to vote, which is a sharp drop from 2018 when 80 percent said they would definitely cast their ballot.

Perhaps this is why the Hong Kong government has decided to set up polling stations at three border check points, Heung Yuen Wai, Lo Wu, and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line so that Hongkongers living in China could cast their votes -- quarantine free. The numbers of people living in these areas could add another 111,000 votes... for which side?

In the meantime the authorities are cracking down on anyone who is directing people on how to vote on December 19. Today arrest warrants were issued for former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung who is now in Australia, and former district councillor Yau Man-chun now in the UK, for urging voters to either cast blank ballots or boycott the election.

An arrest warrant was issued for Ted Hui

Hui and Yau posted on their social media pages between October 30 and November 29, with the former calling for the public to cast blank votes, while the latter told people not to vote, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

In his post, Hui hoped there would be more blank ballots than those filled out as a sign of resistance to tyranny, while Yau called for an outright boycott of the election.

The ICAC presented its investigation to the Department of Justice and it said there was enough evidence to prosecute the two men, and hence the arrest warrants. Hui faces four charges, Yau, eight.

The anti-corruption agency urged the public not to engage in making illegal appeals or repost unlawful content to uphold a fair and clean election.

"The commission will continue to take resolute enforcement actions to combat conduct manipulating and sabotaging the election to ensure that it will be held in a fair and just manner."

Yau is in the UK

In response to the warrant, Yau wrote on his Facebook page: "As for the coffee invitation from the ICAC, my response for now is: noted."

Earlier this month, the ICAC arrested three people for allegedly urging others to cast blank ballots in the Legco election, shortly after security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung warned that such calls might be illegal.

Two men and a woman aged between 29 and 65 were arrested for reposting an online post that encouraged voters to cast blank votes. The trio were later released on bail pending a further investigation.

And just to make sure the elections go smoothly, on December 19 there will be 10,000 police officers all over the streets of Hong Kong... 

Record Number Hongkongers Opt for Canada

Record number of people are seeking study permits to Canada

Although the steady exodus of Hongkongers to the UK continues, there are more people interested in heading to Canada -- including those in their 50s and 60s.

Education and immigration consultants are seeing a record number of people obtaining study permits. Official figures from Canada showed 4,915 Hongkongers were given study permits from January to September, up sharply from 1,975 from the first three quarters of last year.

Of the 4,915 permits, 1,670 were issued in August alone, a new monthly record since 2015, a three-fold increase from 520 in August last year.

More middle-aged people interested in studying

From 2015 to 2020, Canada issued about 200 study permits each month. The monthly figure jumped to an average of 630 from March to September this year.

The sharp increase happened after Canada announced new immigration pathways for Hongkongers in February this year in the wake of the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing last June.

Canada has two routes for Hongkongers to emigrate. One is to complete post secondary education at designated Canadian institutions in the past three years to apply for permanent residence.

The second is for those who have worked in Canada for at least a year in the past three years, provided they attained recognised post secondary qualifications within the past five years.

As these offers are available until August 2026, people who start studying soon will have enough time to complete their studies and apply to remain there.

Canadian immigration faster than in the UK

This is a much shorter way for Hongkongers to gain foreign citizenship than compared to the emigration programs offered by the UK and Australia. However, Canada has said that the offer could be revoked at any time, which is why there is a rush to apply now.

Jeannie Tse, country manager in Hong Kong and Macau for EF Education First, said the number of inquiries about studying in Canada tripled as soon as the schemes were announced. She also noted fielding questions from people over 50, something she had never seen before.

Immigration consultant Chan Yuet-sum also observed more middle-aged Hongkongers inquiring about studying in Canada, including someone in their 60s.

"They can apply for permanent residence in Canada right after graduation and the processing time of around six to 10 months is shorter than Britain's BNO visa scheme," she said.

Many have opted for the UK with BNO passport

Another reason for the growing interest in Canada is that because of the coronavirus pandemic, Australia has closed its borders for two years and so students looking to study overseas are choosing Canada instead as it has opened its borders earlier.

Three Infections Found in Quarantine Hotel

People being picked up to go to Penny's Bay for quarantine

Some 50 people who are quarantining or just recently checked out of the Four Points by Sheraton in Tung Chung now have to go to Penny's Bay for further quarantine after three infections were recorded on the same hotel floor.

Infectious diseases expert Yuen Kwok-yung visited the hotel today and said a 56-year-old man, who arrived from the UK and stayed in the 15th floor, had used a stationary bicycle for exercise during his quarantine.

Yuen says virus-filled air went into next room

Yuen said the man, who later tested positive for Covid-19, must have exhaled a large amount of virus-laden air, which might have flown into the room next door when his neighbour opened the door to get his meals and apparently did not wear his mask. 

The 62-year-old neighbour, who arrived from Thailand, also tested positive for the virus.

The Centre for Health Protection said some 30 people who are still quarantining on the 15th floor, and another 20 people who stayed on the same floor but had already completed their quarantine have been sent to quarantine centres.

Meanwhile Yuen said he has asked the hotel to retrain staff who are responsible for disinfecting corridors and to provide air purifiers for rooms with stationary bikes or treadmills.

He also reminded people who are in quarantine to wear their mask when opening their room doors.

A typical room in Four Points by Sheraton

What a bummer for people who had just left quarantine and then have to be sent to government quarantine for another two weeks. 

Quarantine hotel safety cannot be compromised -- there are potentially infected people that staff are dealing with. 

Which is why I cannot understand why the government still allows some hotels to operating restaurants and pool passes for non-quarantine guests when there is a high chance of cross infections between the staff.

As a personal rule I do not visit the quarantine hotels that have restaurants open, but many have a false sense of security that because separate entrances are used, then it's fine.

This is a quarantine hotel and has restaurant guests

It's not because we have no idea what is going on behind the scenes in the hotel. Do the staff mingle at some place in the back of the hotel? Or are they completely separated? It would seem not likely given space is usually cramped for staff.

Lots of questions.

The Exodus Continues

This is a common and sad scene at the airport these days

This morning there was news of not another arrest, but of more people and groups leaving Hong Kong.

One well known columnist, editor, author and businessman, Steve Vines wrote an email to friends and ex-colleagues that he had left for the UK, as it had become unsafe for him to continue living in the city.

"The white terror sweeping through Hong Kong is far from over and the near-term prospects of things getting better are simply non-existent," he wrote.

Vines revealed he had already arrived in the UK

"Hong Kong is now in a very dark place as the Chinese dictatorship has slashed and burned its way through the tattered remains of the One Country, Two Systems concept."

Last month public broadcaster RTHK axed his show, "The Pulse", and in April he was dropped as a regular contributor to an RTHK morning radio show. Several months ago he also stopped writing regular columns for the South China Morning Post.

Vines left Hong Kong after living here for 35 years with a "heavy heart and a mixture of enormous regret and relief". He was the founding editor and publisher of three newspapers and magazines, including the long ago defunct Eastern Express.

What made Vines leave was apparently a warning he received through a third party from pro-Beijing figures in the city.

"[The person] said quite aggressively... 'you better watch your step, we're coming for you'."

Another well known person is artist Kacey Wong, who revealed on social media that he had settled in Taiwan where he could enjoy "100 percent freedom".

Wong was known for his protest performance art

"When you received this letter, I have already left. Leaving is not easy, staying is also difficult. 

"We have known each other for 51 years, I will not forget you. Let's treasure each other, goodbye Hong Kong," he wrote on Facebook. 

"We'll meet again. Don't know where, don't know when," he sang a rendition of the song by Vera Lynn that was popular during World War II.

Wong, 51, an architecture graduate from Cornell University, was a fixture at the annual July 1 protests. Along the route he did performance art, like playing the accordion in a cage, a giant menacing cardboard robot, and riding in a giant pink army tank.

He is also known for his art that is social commentary, particularly around the housing wealth gap and thinking of creative (and absurd) ways people have to put a roof over their heads.

Then it's not just individuals leaving, but even a news organization.

Digital news outlet Initium Media published a letter to its readers today explaining it will move its operations to Singapore. 

Digital news outlet said it will move to Singapore

Initium's executive director, Susie Wu said, "the road to freedom" had become more and more difficult over the past six years since the outlet's launch, with the world becoming more divided, and Hong Kong's global press freedom ranking plummeting.

She said the media organization will make use of online and decentralized methods to produce content, and continue to provide in-depth reporting on Greater China and global developments.

"Do not despair in hardships, do not give up exploring and changing, because the heart is free, and the values you and I believe in will not be easily broken," Wu told readers.

The news outlet started in 2015 and provides in-depth news, opinion and lifestyle to 60,000 readers in more than 200 countries and regions.

But now Initium needs to implement its plan B and like people emigrating to other countries, the news organization is following suit...

Hong Kong's Second Silver, and a 9-Year Sentence

Haughey with her second silver medal in the 100m free final

 

This morning Hongkongers were on a high as they watched swimmer Siobhan Haughey win a silver medal in the women's 100m freestyle. The 23-year-old clinched double silver in the span of a few days, Hong Kong's third medal of the Tokyo 2020 Games. 

But by the afternoon the mood became sombre with the news that Leon Tong Ying-kit, 24, the first person to be convicted of terrorism and secession under the national security law, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Haughey set a new Asian record at 52.27 seconds

The government-appointed panel of judges sentenced the former restaurant worker to 6.5 years for the secession crime, and eight years for terrorism, with 5.5 years of the latter term to run concurrently with the first. He was also barred from driving for 10 years.

"The defendant was not a lone protester quietly carrying a flag bearing the slogan amongst a sea of protesters," read the 15-page judgment delivered at the Court of First Instance. "He deliberately challenged a number of police check lines in order to attract as much attention to the secessionist message on the flag as possible and to leave a great impact and a strong impression on people."

There was a flag mounted on the back of Tong's motorcycle with the slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".

The panel believed Tong acted alone and did not have a specific plan to separate Hong Kong from the mainland.

Tong riding his motorcycle on July 1, 2020

However the judges believed the defendant committed a terrorist act when he ran into three police officers -- a symbol of law and order -- and intimidating members of the public, especially those with opposing views, by that action.

"What the defendant did was calculated and deliberate acts which created a very dangerous situation for the road users and which indeed caused injuries to three police officers," the judgment read. But they agreed the injuries suffered by the officers were not "serious" as alleged by the prosecution, and so the starting point for sentencing for the charge should be between three and 10 years in jail. The maximum penalty for terrorism under the national security law is life imprisonment.

Thomas Kellogg is the executive director of the Georgetown Centre for Asian Law and describes the sentence as "harsh".

"People can only shape their behaviour after the initial lines of what the national security law covers have been drawn," he said, adding it did not bode well for the 47 opposition activists who were earlier charged with subversion for their part in the unofficial primary election last year. 

Tong has been sentenced to nine years in prison

Kellogg also said it was unfortunate that judges had ruled that the acts to incite secession were of a "serious nature". "If Tong's act of carrying the banner is serious, what acts... are not serious? I worry that the court has essentially expanded the serious nature provision to cover almost all acts of inciting secession," he said.  

Meanwhile Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who is now based in the UK, said the sentence was "outrageous", and raised concerns about free speech.

"The sentencing guideline is unclear, and it gives the judge the power to determine whether a slogan can be seen as 'capable of' inciting secession. This is an extremely low threshold to lock an individual in jail for years," he said.

Today was literally a high and a low...

RTHK Becomes Mainlandized, as Lam Promises Rosy Future

RTHK staff must abide by the one-China policy on Taiwan

 

Radio Television Hong Kong is becoming like Chinese state media with rules imposed on how it will report on Taiwan.

In a circular distributed today to staff at the government broadcaster, they are not allowed to use "inappropriate" terms such as "Taiwan's president" or "Taiwan's government" in all radio, television and online content, to comply with the one-China principle.

Taiwan cannot be described as a country

"Inappropriate terminology such as 'country', 'Republic of China', 'ROC'... must not be used when referring to Taiwan. Under no circumstances should Taiwan be referred to as a sovereign state or perceived as one," it said.

The circular instructed staff to refer to "the most senior leader of Taiwan" as 'Taiwan leader' rather than 'Taiwan president', and 'Taiwan authorities' should be used rather than 'Taiwan government'.

An RTHK spokesman reiterated that as a public broadcaster and a government department, its programmes and content it releases must all abide by the one-China principle.

This circular may have come about after Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Luk Chung-hung inquired in the Legislative Council last week why RTHK used the word "president" to refer to the island's leader. Luk submitted a written question to Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah in Legco, suggesting the broadcaster may have breached the one-China principle.

Tsai now "Taiwan leader" not "Taiwan president"

Yau did not indicate that any policy change was in the works, but only said that all along the government has handled Taiwan-related matters in accordance with the Basic Law, the one-China principle, and the central government's policies towards the island. 

He added that RTHK would "continue to abide by the charter, duly meet its obligations as a public broadcaster, and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism."

When will RTHK describe Taiwan as a "renegade province", and will other media outlets will get this memo as well?

Meanwhile the reports of tens of thousands of people leaving Hong Kong for the UK has unfazed Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

In today's media briefing, Lam said the government did not hold an official position on the matter, but said: "Every now and then in the history of Hong Kong, there are such emigration trends.

Lam pitching Greater Bay Area back in 2018

"But if you really ask me to say something to those who are seeking to emigrate or have already emigrated, I would tell them Hong Kong has a prosperous future."

She pointed out Hong Kong's role in the Greater Bay Area, which will link the city along with Macau and nine cities in Guangdong together in a bid to become an economic and business powerhouse.

"For those who feel a sense of belonging to Hong Kong and are willing to toil away here, this is the best time. But if they choose to leave, this is a personal decision."

"Toil" is an interesting choice of word...

 

Two Years Ago Today

A sea of white two years ago, 1 million protest extradition bill

 

It's hard to believe it was two years ago that the first mass protest against the now-withdrawn extradition bill was held. One million people came out dressed in white t-shirts and tops to symbolize light.

It was the first massive demonstration since 2003, when 500,000 protested against Article 23 security law which was soon shelved by then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. 

Lam did not back down as expected

But this time Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stood her ground.

At 11pm on June 9, 2019, the government issued a press release, saying that while it respected people's rights and freedoms to express their opinions about about the issue, the second reading of the bill would be held three days later.

So that escalated to June 12, 2019, when a general strike was called that day and some people began occupying Tamar Park, where the Legislative Council and government headquarters are.

And it led to the June 16 march with a staggering 2 million people turning out in the streets of Hong Kong to protest, and there were demonstrations every weekend after that, escalating into skirmishes with police that included tear gas, water cannons, live ammunition, and a tense standoff in two university campuses.

How things have have changed so much since then. June 9, 2019 seems so long ago.

Chan (left) was released October 2019

Even the murder in Taiwan that precipitated the proposal of the extradition bill hasn't been resolved; the murder suspect Chan Tong-kai is still living in relative freedom under the care of Reverend Peter Koon Ho-ming, and still has yet to turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities where there is bureaucratic red tape before he can enter to face murder charges.

Two years later Hong Kong has completely changed, mostly in part of the national security law that was implemented almost a year ago and over 10,000 have been arrested, including so many lawmakers, politicians, and activists. 

Who knew this would happen? And during a pandemic?

When 1 million people came out to march on June 9, it was expected that Lam would back down or at least reconsider the extradition bill. 

But she didn't and now here we are, Hong Kong has changed so much that people are leaving for places like the UK, Canada and Australia. 

Many people in this picture are in jail now

And now with the authorities desperate for people to get vaccinated so that Hong Kong can lift its border restrictions with China, some people refuse outright because they don't trust the government at all, thanks to how it handled the 2019 protests.

So many things are happening because of what conspired two years ago.

Who can forget?

Record Capital Outflows to Canada

Hong Kong families are looking to move to Canada

 

If skeptics are wondering if Hongkongers really are leaving their hometown, then perhaps they can follow the money.

According to electronic fund transfers recorded by Fintrac, Canada's anti-money laundering agency, about CAD$43.6 billion (US$34.8 billion) moved from Hong Kong banks to Canada last year, the highest level on record.

Fintrac, which reports transfers above CAD$10,000, has been recording outflow amounts since 2012. 

Some people are looking to move to Vancouver

One Canadian lender, Equitable Bank, confirmed to Reuters it had seen a surge in deposits from Hong Kong just after the national security law was introduced in late June 2020. 

However, the Hong Kong government claims it has not seen significant capital outflows since the anti-government protests in 2019 which were sparked after the extradition bill was first introduced.  

The record transfers are happening when Hong Kong police froze the bank accounts of several people linked to the pro-democracy protests, triggering concern among some residents about asset safety.

Perhaps the Hong Kong government considers the capital outflows as minimal, as they only represent 1.9 percent of the city's total bank deposits in 2020. But Fintrac's data does not include transfers via cryptocurrencies, between financial institutions, or under CAD$10,000.

Some may move to Canada's biggest city

And then there are lawyers, immigration consultants, and real estate agents fielding lots of enquiries, and say many families are ready to move to Canada along with millions of dollars as soon as the pandemic is under control. 

Canadian visa applications excluding visitors's visas rose 10 percent to 8,121 in 2020, with other highly favoured destinations like the UK and Australia.

There are also about 300,000 Canadian citizens living and working in Hong Kong. Some who immigrated to Canada before 1997 have returned to Hong Kong; however the implementation of the new security law has made people concerned about eroding rights and freedoms and want to move children abroad for better education. 

The UK government is expecting as many as 320,000 Hong Kong residents to migrate there in the next five years.

Harvey has seen five-fold increase in clients

Jean-Francois Harvey is a Canadian lawyer based in Hong Kong who specializes in immigration for high net-worth individuals. He has seen a five-fold increase in clients seeking to move to Canada since mid 2020. His clients have transferred at least CAD$1 million, typically between CAD$5 million to CAD$10 million in the last 12 months.

"There has been an incredible increase in demand especially for Canada in Hong Kong, so much that in the middle of Covid-19, I had to double the team and the size of the office in Hong Kong," said Harvey, worldwide managing partner for Harvey Law Group.

"This is more than a spike. It's a wave."

Ex-lawmaker Makes New Life in Australia

Hui announced he had left the UK for Australia

 

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung has announced he has moved from the UK to Australia on his Facebook page, but feared for his safety and did not reveal exactly where he was, except that he is in southeastern Australia. He arrived on Tuesday and is currently undergoing quarantine. 

Hui wrote he would continue his lobbying work in Australia, while leave activism efforts in Britain to Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who moved there just before the national security law was implemented in late June. 

Law is busy with lobbying efforts in the UK

When contacted by the media, Hui denied he was pressured by the UK government to leave, saying he always saw it as a stopover place before going to a third destination. He said he would live on his savings, and support through a social media platform called Patreon, where many pro-democracy activists receive donations from supporters.

"For the long term I've yet to think it over," he said.

Hui thanked Australian authorities for allowing him to come in on a tourist visa despite the strict Covid-19 entry restrictions and that he was undergoing two weeks of quarantine. In the social media post he also thanked the Australian government for coordinating his flight arrangements, thought he had not applied for asylum and would not do so unless it was his last option.

"Although there are many Hongkongers living and studying in Australia, there are relatively few Hong Kong political leaders who are in exile here and are engaged in lobbying work. This is one of the reasons why I decided to move to Australia," Hui said, adding he had relatives in the country who could help him.

Hui at a climate change meeting in Copenhagen

He explained he would lobby the Australian government to press sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, and loosen its immigration rules to allow residents facing persecution to move there. 

Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong last July, saying it was "deeply concerned" about Beijing imposing the national security law on the city.

The 38-year-old lawmaker fled Hong Kong in late November while out on bail late last year, facing numerous charges related to the anti-government protests in 2019.

Denmark invited Hui to come attend a supposed climate change meeting in Copenhagen, and he was able to secure court approval to leave Hong Kong while awaiting trial.

His family joined him later and they flew to Britain, but then five bank accounts belonging to his family were frozen by HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. He urged the British authorities to impose sanctions on HSBC for freezing credit cards and savings accounts belonging to him and his family due to "political considerations".

HSBC and two other banks froze Hui's accounts

It will be interesting to see how Hui and his family fare in Australia, but with relatives to support them, it sounds like a practical decision. But surely the Chinese will be conducting surveillance on him, so Hui needs to be careful. 

Nevertheless it is possible he can carve out a career as an activist in exile and keep the discussion going on Hong Kong and its deteriorating environment.

Hong Kong's Rising Number of University Dropouts

The numbers of students graduating are decreasing

 

If one needs another sign that Hong Kong's young people are leaving the city, look no further than the university statistics. They show more than 2,100 students dropped out of eight local universities in the 2019-20 year, up 15 percent from 2018-19.

It's the highest number of dropouts since 2004 when this data was first recorded. 

Chinese University was damaged from clashes

The figures were released by the University Grants Committee, the main funding body for the city's public institutions of higher learning, showed that some schools had more dropouts than others, with one as much as a 40 percent increase in 2019-20 compared to the previous academic year.

While most universities cited personal and family issues as the reasons for withdrawals, student leaders said their peers left to study abroad following the anti-government protests in 2019.

There are other surveys showing students in primary and secondary schools dropping out over the past year, including from elite institutions, which indicates they most probably left Hong Kong.

In the 2019-20 academic year, 2,120 undergraduate and postgraduate students withdrew from the city's eight publicly-funded universities, up 15 percent from 1,848 in 2018-19, according to statistics from the grants committee.

While City University and Education University did not see an uptick in dropouts, Polytechnic University saw the biggest drop at 505 students leaving, 40 percent more than the 359 who quit the previous year.

HKU saw a low number of students drop out

Meanwhile the University of Hong Kong saw 357 students leave, the University of Science and Technology had 207 students withdraw, up 36 and 35 percent respectively, and Chinese University had 311 students leave, a 13 percent rise.

The numbers include local and non-local students.

Poly U and Chinese University sustained the most damage during the 2019 protests when protesters occupied the campuses and had clashes with police. 

Edy Jeh Tsz-lam, a student representative of HKU's governing council and former president of the student union, said she believed some dropouts could be non-local students who returned to their home countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, while local students left Hong Kong to study elsewhere.

She heard of students transferring to universities in Taiwan and the UK, while others had quit university to reapply to study other subjects because their personal goals had changed.

"For instance, a friend of mine who was studying law told me [during the 2019 protests] that she was considering quitting university and reapplying for dentistry, as she believed studying law and [entering the legal sector] in Hong Kong was no longer meaningful," Jeh said, citing critics who had declining confidence in the local judicial system.

CUHK saw 13 percent increase in withdrawals

PolyU student union president Alan Wu Wai-kuen said he had peers who had chosen to study elsewhere after dropping out, going to countries like Australia and Canada. 

However officially, Baptist, Polytechnic, Education and Lingnan universities cited personal reasons for why students withdrew, while a Chinese University spokeswoman said students transferring to another local institution or overseas universities was also a major factor.

The dropout figures for 2019-20 were the highest since the 2003-04 academic year, the earliest for which the grants committee data was immediately available. That year about 1,704 students withdrew, while in the 2010-11 year saw the lowest number of students dropout at 1,057. It has hovered around the 1,800 a year since 2015.

But the most recent figures are troubling, and professor Lau Chi-pang of Lingnan University's associate vice-president of academic affairs and external relations says more studies should be conducted to find out the real reasons why students have quit.

Poly U saw biggest drop in students leaving

"The government should maybe also look into the phenomenon. It is not just universities being affected," he said, pointing to the concurrent rise in dropouts at primary and secondary schools. "It is, after all, not an isolated topic."

Lau is right and the government should be worried that a stream of students are leaving or have changed their majors. Are we going to see fewer studying law as Jeh suggested, or even history now that national education will change how the subject is taught in schools? 

Hong Kong's political and social environment continues to deterioriate daily, and the numbers of students leaving are a big red flag.

Mini Protest Outside of Court

A sea of people clad in black wait outside West Kowloon Court

Hundreds of Hongkongers dressed in black came out in support of the 47 charged with subversion under the national security law. Some of the even lined up at 9pm the night before to be able to go into the court room. Even if they couldn't get in they stayed outside the West Kowloon Court as a sign that the pro-democratic movement has not wavered.

They shouted slogans, like "Five demands not one less!", "Hongkongers add oil!", and "Hongkongers revenge!" that haven't been heard for about a year. 

Some diplomats tried to get into the court today

"Hong Kong people are so angry. No other protests can happen, so we come here. The new law forbids everything else," said Wong Tin-yan, a district councillor, who was standing outside the court.

Consular officials from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Australia tried to get into the courtroom, but were not able to.

Even at 10.30pm only six of the 47 had their lawyers complete their bail applications.  It's going to be a long night for everyone. 

Already the prosecutors have asked for an extra three months to complete their investigation, which means three more months of sitting in jail for the defendants. Paul Harris, one of the defense lawyers said if prosecutors move fast to charge someone, then they should also ensure a speedy trial.

But it seems Beijing has already decided the verdict even before the trials have begun.

Where is the rule of law here? Innocent before proven guilty?

Benny Tai being brought to court

Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong said in a speech that media publisher Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, and Benny Tai Yiu-ting should be "severely punished" for "instigating riots with extremely notorious acts".

"The small minority of people who called for foreign forces to interfere with Hong Kong affairs... are destroyers of 'one country, two systems''; we must not allow them to gain any of Hong Kong's public power," Xia was quoted as saying in pro-Beijing Bauhinia Magazine.

"[They] should not be merely banned from infiltrating any public office in Hong Kong, but also strictly punished in accordance with the law for their illegal acts... The minority of people who oppose China and mess up Hong Kong will only cause disasters, including destruction, instability and terror."

Xia paints a very dire picture, but since the national security law was implemented, there has been hardly any protests or gatherings due to the fear of arrests. 

And this charge of subversion? These 47 defendants participated in a primary to choose the best candidate to run for the Legislative Council elections that didn't happen because of the pandemic.

Many shouted slogans from the 2019 protests

So how is that be a crime?

Prosecutors are framing this as a plot to subvert Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor -- a violation of the national security law -- and so those involved must be prosecuted.

While the outlook is bleak, the fact that hundreds came out in support of the almost four dozen defendants is impressive and shows people are still willing to fight -- albeit cautiously in an increasingly repressive environment.