London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

"Not The City I Used To Know": Why Some Hong Kongers Are Leaving

"Not The City I Used To Know": Why Some Hong Kongers Are Leaving

Authorities responded to huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 with mass arrests and the imposition of a sweeping national security law.

A new visa scheme is offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship as the city's former colonial master opens its doors to those wanting to escape China's crackdown.

Authorities responded to huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 with mass arrests and the imposition of a sweeping national security law.

As Beijing attempts to snuff out dissent in the semi-autonomous city of 7.5 million, AFP met with some Hong Kongers who have already left, or plan to head to Britain in the coming months.

Spike in inquiries


Billy Wong, an immigration consultant, has fielded a torrent of calls in recent months on one topic -- moving to Britain.

"Many people want to leave," the 44-year-old told AFP, saying the number of enquiries is "scary".

Wong is also planning to relocate, something he and his wife Eileen Yeung had been considering for a few years.

"Now we have this new law, we are being very careful about our speech and measure what we can write on Facebook," said Yeung, referring to the security law.

"What I want most for my daughter is that she can be herself and think freely," she added.

Daughter Tinyu, 10, has already been admitted to a boarding school in Derby and is full of questions about what the next chapter holds.

"What does immigration mean? Does it mean we have to move -- like moving to another place in Hong Kong? What is UK like? Are the British polite? I asked myself a lot of questions," she said.

"Time to leave"


Three months after Gavin Mok, 42, and his wife Lydia moved to Britain, their possessions have finally caught up.

After the shipment wound its way from Hong Kong to their new home in Exeter, in southwest England, Mok filmed the unloading for his YouTube subscribers.

He hopes his channel will encourage other Hong Kongers to make the same move.

"I would like to share my experience, to let them know that it's the time to leave," Mok told AFP.

Mok went to school and university in Britain. For his daughters, aged 9 and 11, it is more of an adjustment.

But they stay in touch with friends back home via video call and are looking forward to British school once the coronavirus pandemic is under control.

"In some ways they already speak English more than Cantonese," he laughed.

A former trader in Hong Kong's lucrative financial sector, Mok knows he has little chance of matching his old salary.

"I'm prepared to do any kind of low-paid, blue-collar work, like food and parcel deliveries," he said.

"I don't miss Hong Kong because I gave up on Hong Kong as a place a long time ago. There's nothing for me there," he added.

"But I will never give up my identity as a Hong Konger."

My son's future


It was an assault on democracy protests by a gang of stick-wielding government supporters wielding sticks in June 2019 that convinced Winston Wong and Connie Chan, both 40.

"We literally decided like overnight. Okay, I think it's better that we leave," said Chan, who is able to run her business remotely since moving to Britain last year.

They have since settled in Chelmsford with their 9-year-old son.

"We were worried about our kid and his future," said Chan.

Moving in the middle of a pandemic hasn't been plain sailing.

Wong left behind a well-paying job as a finance director and has yet to find work in Britain.

China has vowed to retaliate in some form against Britain for its visa offer but Wong says he is unruffled.

"If the authorities made me choose, I won't hesitate to give up my Hong Kong ID card," he said. "Because I don't think my identity as a Hong Konger is defined by an ID."

Cherished library


Ian, 40, is waiting to see how the coronavirus vaccination pans out in Britain before making a move.

He had been planning to retire in the UK and says he likes British culture, but political events prompted him to speed up those plans.

"Seeing that Hong Kong's political situation is worsening, I decided to leave earlier," he said, asking to only use his first name for safety reasons.

As an online entrepreneur, he can work anywhere -- although his partner will stay in Hong Kong for now.

"Hong Kong is not the city I used to know. In the past, young people could still climb the social ladder step by step, but now, you can really see the future is bleak for youngsters," he told AFP.

"So why not leave when I'm still comparatively young and start a new life in the UK?".

He has not started packing yet.

While he plans to travel light, his collection of political books -- on topics like the Chinese cultural revolution and Hong Kong's democracy movement -- will definitely join him.

"I feel like we have a duty to keep some these books," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×