An exodus of expatriates and locals from Hong Kong is poised to intensify in 2022, as policy makers continue their crackdown on civil society and brush off an increasing uproar over aligning with mainland China’s "COVID zero" strategy.
A population outflow that was triggered by the 2019 protests deepened last year to a record as the realization that the city’s strict COVID-19 policies are here to stay sank in, and the impact of the national security law imposed by Beijing continued to roil public life. The effects of the brain drain in sectors such as education, health care, and even finance will likely be felt by residents for years to come.
"With everything that’s happening in Hong Kong, the strict quarantine rules and the national security law, banks and companies across the broader financial services sector are looking at their footprints in the region and where they want people based,” said Simon Roberts, chairman for Asia at executive search firm Sheffield Haworth. "If the government’s current zero-COVID policy continues, then come the end of the school year in the summer of 2022, there will be a further mass exodus.”