Hong Kong returnee

A Hong Kong returnee is a resident of Hong Kong who emigrated to another country, lived for an extended period of time in his or her adopted home, and then subsequently moved back to Hong Kong.

According to the Hong Kong Transition Project of Hong Kong Baptist University, in 2002, the population of Hong Kong Returnees constituted 3% of the Hong Kong population. This number was arrived at by survey and a participant was categorised as a "Returnee" by self-identification. As such, it excluded those Hong Kongers surveyed who had foreign citizenship, but did not self-identify as "Returnees".

Most returnees left Hong Kong during the 1980s and the 1990s, after the announcement of the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong back to Chinese rule. It is estimated that nearly one-sixth of the population of Hong Kong emigrated between 1984 and 1997. The destination of choice was usually a Western country, the most popular being Canada, Australia, and the United States.

There are typically two types of emigrants, those who planned on returning to Hong Kong after they obtained foreign citizenship and those who planned on staying in their adopted homes permanently and fully adapting to life there. The former are sometimes better described as sojourners rather than emigrants. However, often these two types of Hong Kong emigrants act against what they had planned, where some of those who had planned on permanent stays actually returned to Hong Kong, some planning on temporary stays actually made the decision to stay permanently in their adopted homelands.

According to Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, approximately 600000 Hong Kongers emigrated before and around 1997.

It is estimated that 30% of those Hong Kongers who moved away in the 1980s have returned to Hong Kong. Those that have moved back to Hong Kong have returned for various reasons – for economic reasons, or simply because they enjoy living in Hong Kong more than they do elsewhere. Specifically, many wealthy Hong Kongers who emigrated to Canada found that they could not adjust to the economic culture in Canada. The higher taxes and red tape and the language barrier made it difficult for them to do business. Comparatively speaking, doing business in Hong Kong was much easier.

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