Hong Kong Outlook People Emigrating and Coming Back By VIVIAN CHIU	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
去る家族と戻る家族 1984年の英中協定で、中国への香港返還が決定してから、香港にこのままとどまるべきか、海外に移住すべきかの選択に悩んだ香港市民は少なくありません。今週は、海外に移住したものの順応できず香港に戻ってきた家族と、移住先が気に入ってそのまま住む道を選んだ家族の例を紹介します。

Ever since China and Britain signed the joint declaration on Hong Kong in 1984, stating that Hong Kong would be returned to China in 1997, Hong Kong people's nerves have been jittery.

Since then, many Hong Kong people have emigrated overseas to start a new life in a foreign country. The number of people leaving Hong Kong increased from an average of 20,000 a year in the early 1980s to 30,000 in 1987 and reached 66,000 in 1992. About 43,000 emigrated in 1995 and 40,300 in 1996. However there were signs of emigrants returning to Hong Kong as many of them could not adapt to life abroad, and as they gained confidence in China, which had been making great economic strides. At least 12 percent of the people who emigratedin the decade before 1994 have returned to Hong Kong with overseas passports.

Sisters Judith and Emily Wong typify this choice. The elder has opted to stay in Hong Kong with her family, after living in Canada for several years, while the younger has sold everything in Hong Kong and emigrated to Canada with her husband and daughter.

Judith Wong, the older sister, emigrated to Canada in 1986 with her husband and three children. The family originally decided to go to Canada because Wong's husband, George Kwok, had relatives there. They stayed in Vancouver. When they emigrated, all three of the Kwok children were toddlers. "We emigrated for the children. We wanted them to grow up in a free country," Wong said. "The good thing about Canada is that it's a concentrated city, where transport and shopping are convenient."

"At first life was quiet, and a bit boring," Wong added. "Most Canadians are family-oriented. After living there for two or three years, I began to like its quality of living. There driving is easy. The air is clean, the house is big and there's more space for my children to play. The cost of living is not high. In Hong Kong, it's always rush, rush, rush," she said.

"Though I have lived there for seven years I don't feel a sense of belonging as a Canadian does. One thing I don't like is the racial discrimination," said Wong. She related the experience of her Chinese friend who went into a supermarket where a Caucasian woman said to her: "Why don't you go back to Hong Kong?"

Wong also worried about career opportunities for Asians in Canada. "The top jobs won't go to the Asians; they are only for Caucasians. If an Asian and a Caucasian enter a company at the same time, after 20 years the Caucasian might be promoted to head of the department while the Asian would still be in the lower ranks. I thought that would not be good for my children," Wong said.

While Kwok was in Canada he started a produce business ― selling fruits and vegetables. The tax was high and he was operating at a loss. "My mother wanted us to go back to Hong Kong so she could be close to her grandchildren. She also wanted them to learn more about Chinese culture, so we came back," Kwok said. The Kwoks returned to Hong Kong in 1993.

"I feel my children's future should be in Asia," Wong said. All three children are now studying in an international school in Hong Kong and they are learning Chinese there.

"I feel I made the right decision to come back to Hong Kong. The quality of life in Hong Kong might not be as good as Canada's, but the most important thing is being back in our own home. In the past few years, my feelings toward Communism have improved. China is not as authoritarian as before, but its human rights policy still has a long way to go. We have Canadian passports and if we don't like living under the new administration we can always go back to Canada," Wong said.

Her eldest daughter, Carol, who is 15, says she prefers to live in Hong Kong. "There is much more entertainment in Hong Kong. Everything here is a lot better, because it's a Chinese society and I feel a lot more comfortable in Hong Kong. If there are good jobs in Hong Kong, I'll develop my career here," she said.

Judith's sister, Emily Wong, chose to move back to Canada last year with her husband and daughter. They first emigrated to Canada in 1989 because they feared the Communists, and after the June 4 massacre they were determined to leave Hong Kong. The yonger Wong lived close to her sister in Canada and worked for her brother-in-law's business. In 1991, the family returned to Hong Kong because her husband's brother got sick and her husband had to look after the business. "We returned to Canada last year because we are still worried about mainland politics. We don't know what will happen in the future; we're not so optimistic," the younger Wong said.

She and her husband packed their bags last spring, sold their house and went back to Canada. Now they are a happy family living in Richmond, Vancouver. They bought a large house, a Mercedes-Benz and a dog who keeps their 10-year-old daughter Jennifer company. "I like the Canadian education system. It's more liberal and encourages the children to be more creative. I think it will be good for my daughter to study in Canada," Wong said.

Shukan ST: July 4, 1997

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