Waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Mass Migration Wave was one of the waves of emigration of Hong Kong residents since the Second World War, accelerated by the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist Riots and extending into the 1980s and 1990s fuelled by Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. By some estimates, the number of emigrants was in tens of thousands in this period.

Traditional ways of life in the Indigenous inhabitants villages in the New Territories collapsed at the end of WWII. Unable to earn a living in the newly industrialised economy of post-war Hong Kong, many villagers exercised their right of abode in the United Kingdom and left for Europe.

In 1967, a series of large-scale riots erupted in Hong Kong, causing social instability. These events led some of the richer Hong Kong residents to move abroad. Emigration took place to countries in Southeast Asia, South Africa or South American countries. This wave did not come to a rest until the mid-1970s.

On the 19th of December 1984, the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the "Sino-British Joint Declaration", validated the 1997 transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. The declaration prompted emigration of the Hong Kongers. The British government made it clear that Hong Kong citizens would not be granted British citizenship on the grounds that they were residing in a British colony, so instead, numerous residents sought alternate arrangements and migrated to other countries.

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