Earlier quoted context omitted.
It will disproportionately take away the more wealthy and better educated. The majority of HKers live in public housing, pay no tax and are unlikely to have the means to live in the UK since there will be no recourse to public funds. This level of brain drain, as in the other mass migration events away from HK, could trigger the government to loosen their grip.
There is no risk of a brain drain. There are plenty of well educated mainlanders who will be happy to take jobs in HK.
Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
231–240 of 409 posts
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
Surprising isn't it, given how much of a driving force EU immigration was in the Brexit debate.
No - because these are RICH Asian migrants, not POOR North African and Syrian migrants. It's a combination of differential racism and elitism.
Is it possibly more representative of your own prejudices that you see only negative motivation here?
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
Better than being ruled by communists, that's for damn sure. That was my experience, anyway.
I’m really curious: what is your experience that you’re referring to?
With the exception of my wife's grandmother, every member of her extended family spent time in either prison or forced-work camps. One of her aunts translated for me the "confession" she was forced to sign. None of this was related to what we'd consider crimes, but was entirely political.
The Communists took the family's house. They had a refrigerator and a piano, which the Red Guard destroyed on the basis that if everyone didn't have such bourgeois goods, then no one should. When TVs were made available for neighborhood viewing, my wife wasn't allowed to attend.
And there's the malnutrition and squalor they were subjected to. They shared one floor of a brownstone with 2 other families - so, 3 entire families sharing one kitchen and 1.5 baths. There was insufficient food, to the point where they had to eat insect-infested grain - while Party members got plenty.
So, all in all, my wife's experience with Communism wasn't positive, and having lived through that, she's the first to speak up against anything that exhibits any of those traits.
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#234I live in Vancouver. The pattern for many Hong Kong immigrants is to have the mother and children live in Canada while the father works in HK.The family doesn't declare the foreign income in Canada. So they enjoy the benefits of a low tax HK income. And they get all the nice things that go with living in high tax Canada while not contributing to it -free healthcare, subsided University, safe communities, clean enviro…
> mother and children live in Canada When these children grow up - they will pay taxes in Canada. It looks like a good deal for Canada. Even if father's income is taxed in Hong Kong only.
And many of the children of Hk immigrants will go back to HK to earn more money.
They will do whatever is in their best interest.
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#235It's interesting to see how proactive a lot of developed countries are being with getting ready to welcome refugees from Hong Kong, especially compared to the Syrian crisis a few years ago.
compared to the Syrian crisis a few years ago Please enlighten me. As a German, I have yet to see even a statement of any German politician to do as the Brits do. Is there any non-english speaking country being "proactive"?
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. IMO assimilation isn't a bad thing, rather an indicator of a culture they bring with them which is accustomed to concepts of citizenry (or even more evolved) and the state (confucianism?).
Assimilation means the next generation won't be willing to fight the the memories of a HK half a world and century away. Also, most of the Asian diaspora in the anglophone sphere assimilate simply because there's not enough population, not because of some special cultural quality. 5% of the US is Asian American, and that's divided among all the different Asian nations. The Asian diaspora in Southeast Asia do a much b…
But it doesn't mean they are forgetting about their ancestors struggle or their heritage either.
not because of some special cultural quality
It could easily transcribed as education, no need to imply cultural patronzing.
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#237Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
The CPP would like to have a word with you for referring to Taiwan as a “different country”
They need to stop strong-arming the rest of us into accepting their made-up-reality. They can live in fantasy land if they want, but they don't get to make me live in their fantasy.
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#239I live in Vancouver. The pattern for many Hong Kong immigrants is to have the mother and children live in Canada while the father works in HK.The family doesn't declare the foreign income in Canada. So they enjoy the benefits of a low tax HK income. And they get all the nice things that go with living in high tax Canada while not contributing to it -free healthcare, subsided University, safe communities, clean enviro…
If the dad stays an astronaut, he will get lost in space once China finishes engulfing HK. I don't think HKers are going to be as worried about reducing their tax rates as staying free right now..
300,000 Canadians living in HK right now.
Re: Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hong Kong is very British, though. Most of the other colonized parts are not (Exceptions maybe Canada, NZ and Australia). But traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, you can feel that there is a significant culture gap. Also Hong Kong appears to have lots of British banking connections like HSBC and Standard Chartered.
Hongkong looks somewhat British in some aspects but not many. I think the main culture gap is that HK has kept a traditional Chinese culture that was swept away on the mainland. > like HSBC The name which means the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company. A bank founded in China (Hongkong) by the British.