Why disruption, not the national security law, is the main force pushing Hongkongers to leave

Last October, the annual Chinese University survey of attitudes towards migration reported a shocking 42.3 per cent of Hong Kong respondents wanted to emigrate – mostly to Canada, Australia or Taiwan. That was up from around 33 per cent the year before. Run this survey today, and who would dare guess what the number would be.

Add the news that the British government, after decades of procrastination and provoked by Beijing’s decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong, is preparing to offer full British passports to holders of the British National (Overseas) passport, and the potential is high for emigration inquiries to leap off the charts. More than 300,000 Hong Kong people hold BN(O) passports, and about 2.5 million more are thought to be eligible.

Most international media will opt to blame the surge in emigration inquiries on the national security bill. That might be natural, but it would be myopic.

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