Hong Kong protests have residents plotting their exit to Canada, Australia

International News

When Kevin Tsang tuned into Carrie Lam's predawn press conference to condemn protesters who had ransacked government offices during a dramatic escalation of tensions over Hong Kong's controversial extradition bill, he didn't like what he heard.
So much so, that the 25-year-old surveyor is now considering emigrating to Australia.
Lam, the city's chief executive, dodged questions whether she could face the families of three people who had committed suicide to protest the bill, which would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to the mainland and is seen as a further erosion of the city's independence from Beijing.
"People sacrificed themselves to make their voices heard, but she just avoided the questions," he said. "If the democracy, freedom we have now would stay intact, I wouldn't think about leaving at all, all my family and friends are here. But the environment gives me a feeling that if I say something wrong, I may be arrested."
He's not alone. Even with the bill shelved, weeks of mass protests and sometimes violent police clashes in the city have seen emigration inquiries surge, according to interviews with migration consultants, brokers and accountants.
At Goldmax Immigration Consulting Co, inquiries and applications have jumped 20 per cent since May, said Margaret Chau, an immigration program director at the firm.

 "In the past, people would ring up for inquiries, but now they seem to be very determined," said John Hu, director of John Hu Migration Consulting, adding that the number of inquiries his firm handled doubled in June...Read More