For Hong Kongers, Canada is beaten path out of China’s grip

TORONTO, February 13 ------ A second generation of Hong Kongers is heading to Canada for refuge from political uncertainty, but unlike their parents in the 1980s and 1990s, this time seems for good. Cities such as Vancouver and Toronto are a magnet for those looking to escape as China tightens its grip on the territory of 7.5 million people. Some 300,000 already have Canadian citizenship after many families initially moved there ahead of Hong Kong’s return from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Back then, many families separated, with one parent staying in Hong Kong for work, usually fathers who were dubbed “astronauts” as they soared through the sky on visits. Among those who went to Canada, many eventually returned, lured by the booming economy and what still seemed to be a relatively free environment.

Things have changed.

With recent pro-democracy protests virtually snuffed out and Beijing enshrining control last year via a national security law, bags are being packed once more. “Staying in Hong Kong is not an option anymore,” said Maria Law, 39, who moved to Vancouver last year with her two girls ahead of her husband. “I’d rather have a free future for my daughters instead of making money while they have to keep their mouths shut.”

For Law, a former flight attendant, history has repeated itself. She is part of a rare cohort of double political emigres. Taken to Vancouver when she was 12, Law remembers daily speakerphone calls from the living room with her father, who was earning the family bread as a hotel chef back in Hong Kong. Enthusiasm for the calls waned as it became clear he was staying. Yet like many such “satellite” children, separated from one or both parents, Law eventually followed in her father’s footsteps to return to Hong Kong herself for work in 2004.

“When I was young, I asked my father why I had to move. But now I am in his position, I understand,” she said. “He sacrificed more than we did. He’s the one who had to be alone.”

Source: reuters.com