Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California or ground zero of the invasion
    Posts
    16,029

    Canadians by choice, Hong Kongers by nature

    www.theglobeandmail.com

    Canadians by choice, Hong Kongers by nature

    A growing tide of Canadian passport-holders are returning to the city, lured back by the booming economy and growing business opportunities, GEOFFREY YORK writes

    By GEOFFREY YORK

    Thursday, September 29, 2005 Page H4

    Synda Tse still remembers the fears and anxieties of the early 1990s, when she left Hong Kong and emigrated to Canada.

    Everywhere in the British colony, there was mounting nervousness over the approach of 1997, when the territory would be handed over to China. "There was a feeling of huge uncertainty and instability," she recalls. "Everyone was talking about emigrating. It kind of brainwashed me. Everyone was doing it, so I felt it was the only way to go."

    But after moving to Toronto with her parents in 1990 and toiling for 14 years as a salaried worker in Toronto's financial sector, Ms. Tse and her husband moved back to Hong Kong last year. They wanted to build their own business -- and they believed that China was the place to be.

    They joined a growing flow of Canadian passport-holders who are returning to Hong Kong. The tide of migration is swiftly reversing itself. Of the estimated 200,000 people who fled in the exodus to Canada from 1992 to 1997, about one third have now returned to Hong Kong -- lured back primarily by the booming economy and growing business opportunities here.

    Mortgage Rates
    Compare national rates by lender: See Chart
    Although she often misses Canada, Ms. Tse is convinced she has a brighter future in Hong Kong, where her business career can advance faster. She was unhappy with the complacency of Canada's business culture and the high rates of taxation (she was paying income taxes of more than 50 per cent in Toronto, compared to a rate of 16 per cent in Hong Kong).

    "The Canadian work culture is: 'Why should I put in the extra effort if others are not?' Most people don't take ownership of their work. In Hong Kong, we are risk-takers. People are more adaptable. If you prove yourself and work hard, you'll get there."

    Ms. Tse, 40, decided with her husband to open a Hong Kong branch of Children's Technology Workshop, which provides scientific and technological programs for young children. Their business has tripled in the past year.

    Some of their adjustment was difficult. Because of higher housing costs, they had to move into a 118-square-metre apartment in Hong Kong, much smaller than their 360-square-metre house in a Toronto suburb. Their four-year-old son has less space to play, and he complains about the hot steamy weather. But they enjoy the Hong Kong lifestyle and abundant restaurants and the chance for their son to master the Chinese language and culture.

    And the early fears about Beijing's control of Hong Kong have subsided. "I have a lot more confidence in the Chinese government," Ms. Tse says. "They know the Hong Kong people much better now. We feel that China will back us up. We don't feel a threat any more. We're in the same boat. They have the same interests as us: to keep Hong Kong a very strong economy, and to protect the prosperity of the entrepreneurs."

    The back-and-forth flow of the emigrants has helped build a powerful connection between Hong Kong and Canada. A survey this year by a Hong Kong university, commissioned by the Canadian consulate here, concluded that almost a quarter million people (3.4 per cent of Hong Kong's population of 7 million) are Canadian passport-holders. Almost 8 per cent of the population has studied in Canada, and 14 per cent say they travel to Canada at least once a year.

    Moreover, 16 per cent of the territory's population -- about 1.1 million people -- have close family links to Canada. The survey confirmed that Hong Kong's connections with Canada are closer than those with any other overseas country. Those connections are maintained by a tight network of community groups. There are 24 Canadian university alumni associations in Hong Kong, for example. The Chinese Canadian Association of Hong Kong has about 3,000 active members.

    Many of Hong Kong's top business tycoons have Canadian citizenship or other close links to Canada. Among them are Victor and Richard Li, two of Hong Kong's most powerful businessmen, who are both Canadian citizens. They are the sons of Li Ka-shing, the wealthiest tycoon in Hong Kong.

    Some of the territory's leading politicians also have Canadian connections. Frederick Ma, the secretary for financial services and the treasury in the Hong Kong cabinet, worked as a banker and securities analyst in Toronto from 1979 to 1985. He became a Canadian citizen, although he was required to give up his Canadian citizenship when he entered cabinet in 2002. His brother still lives in Toronto and his wife and two daughters are still Canadian citizens.

    "My experience on Bay Street really helps me," Mr. Ma said in an interview in his cabinet office. "I bump into a lot of people in Hong Kong with Bay Street experience. It's great that people who spend a few years abroad are coming back to Hong Kong now. This town needs talent. I'm a perfect example -- I learned a lot in Canada and I'm happy to bring that back to Hong Kong."

    He still has fond memories of picnics on Centre Island in Toronto and fishing expeditions in the Thousand Islands. "Canadians are very friendly, and I learned a lot about that in Canada."

    Of the estimated 300,000 people who emigrated from Hong Kong in the 1990s before the handover, almost 70 per cent chose Canada as their destination. Some critics accused them of cynically buying their passports in a transaction of convenience. But Gerry Campbell, the Canadian Consul General in Hong Kong, argues that the flow of people between Hong Kong and Canada has been beneficial for both sides.

    "It's a huge but invisible asset," he said in an interview. "Those connections pay dividends for us. It's wonderful for us. Canada has a relatively high profile in Hong Kong, whereas that would be an uphill struggle in most places in the world. The Air Canada flights between Canada and Hong Kong are just chock-a-block all the time."

    Canadian exports to Hong Kong are about $1.4-billion annually, and Hong Kong has invested about $5.3-billion in Canada. Both figures are extremely high for a territory of just seven million people.

    The benefits to Hong Kong are equally significant. "The people who went to Canada are bringing back skill sets that they learned in Canada and, hopefully, some Canadian values too, such as environmentalism and corporate responsibility," Mr. Campbell said. "Any cross-fertilization of ideas is good for them. We're probably an influence on a lot of issues: civic awareness, respect for the environment, even politeness."

    Christine Loh, chief executive of a Hong Kong think-tank called Civic Exchange, says the territory was hard-hit by the exodus of migrants in the 1990s. "It was devastating for Hong Kong," she said in an interview. "They were the best-educated people. But now they or their kids are interested in coming back."

    Those who return from Canada are bringing the "young blood" that Hong Kong needs, she said. "They're well trained and they have a global outlook, which helps to fill a gap in Hong Kong. They represent the future. They bring a mixing of ideas and diversity, so we can innovate."
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Lonetree, CO
    Posts
    543
    Gag, should I utter this, hummm my initial thought of what she is saying makes me feel that they feel what we in America should feel. China sounds more American than America?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

    Nah couldn't be, has to be propaganda.
    "I can because I will, I will because I can" ME

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    El Norte De Carolina, Los Estados Unidos
    Posts
    1,784

    Re: Canadians by choice, Hong Kongers by nature

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian503a
    www.theglobeandmail.com

    Canadians by choice, Hong Kongers by nature

    A growing tide of Canadian passport-holders are returning to the city, lured back by the booming economy and growing business opportunities, GEOFFREY YORK writes

    By GEOFFREY YORK

    Thursday, September 29, 2005 Page H4

    Synda Tse still remembers the fears and anxieties of the early 1990s, when she left Hong Kong and emigrated to Canada.

    Everywhere in the British colony, there was mounting nervousness over the approach of 1997, when the territory would be handed over to China. "There was a feeling of huge uncertainty and instability," she recalls. "Everyone was talking about emigrating. It kind of brainwashed me. Everyone was doing it, so I felt it was the only way to go."

    But after moving to Toronto with her parents in 1990 and toiling for 14 years as a salaried worker in Toronto's financial sector, Ms. Tse and her husband moved back to Hong Kong last year. They wanted to build their own business -- and they believed that China was the place to be.

    They joined a growing flow of Canadian passport-holders who are returning to Hong Kong. The tide of migration is swiftly reversing itself. Of the estimated 200,000 people who fled in the exodus to Canada from 1992 to 1997, about one third have now returned to Hong Kong -- lured back primarily by the booming economy and growing business opportunities here."
    So, now that these immigrants (legal or illegal or a combination of both - the article doesn't say) have uprooted and made new homes in a foreign country that was much better than the third world one they left - or they wouldn't have left, and undoubtedly their move has benefited them much more than it benefited the citizens of their new adopted country in so many ways, are now leaving their adopted countries and saying see ya! Whatever happened to assimilation, being grateful and adopting and being loyal to your NEW country???

    However, the fact that the article quotes 1/3 of approximately 200,000 people who originally fled Hong Kong to Canada are returning to their original countries, should make many Canadians happy. Read on . . .

    http://www.canadafirst.net/
    Canada First Immigration Reform Commitee

    To appreciate that Canada has similar problems as the USA in terms of massive populations migrating - both legally and illegally, you will have to search the site. Similar problems are occuring such as losing their cultural heritage and English language, massive welfare benefits to immigrants that overtax legal citizens, new diseases brought in and the resurfacing of ones that were controlled or eliminated through first rate health care and medicine, and lost freedom of speech for the Canadian citizens who do not like being overrun and overpopulated and watching their society being destroyed.

    Relating to loss of free speech, please also check out:

    http://www.canadafirst.net/myths/index.html - The Myths of Immigration (20 myths total) - Some Hard Facts About Being Soft - Canada's Multicultural and Immigration Policy: Just Nice Guys - or Blind Intimidated Sheep?

    and . . .

    http://www.canadianfreespeech.com/ - Canadian Association for Free Expression.

    The later two sites specifically deal, I believe, with how Canadians are thwarted at every turn when they complain about their deteriorating and beloved country by being labeled as rascists and hate-mongerers, or zenophobes, by the "thought police" or at least by the esteemed "politically correct."

    I found the first Canada link in a list of organizations and thanks to Frosty Wooldridge's 2004 book, "Immigration's Unarmed Invasion." Frosty has also written and commented about how Europeon first world countries are experiencing the same problems with overpopulation of foreigners by their elected officials. Some of his articles have appeared in the Alipac.us forums. Also, see www.frostywooldridge.com

    The major problem with immigration - both legal and illegal - has always been overpopulation because so many other serious and threatening issues arise from here. This is the plague of any third world countries (i.e. why isn't anyone migrating to India, Bangledesh or China, for example) and it's being imported into first world countries by their leaders. I believe this is deliberate and because of a few elites around the globe. Many have written about this and posts have also been made in this forum too on globalization. I do not believe that our elected USA president and many other leaders are doing this blindly or because they are stupid (well, I'll question the second label). They have a plan - and the plan is to destroy our middle class, further devastate our poor and destroy our sovereignty, and that of other wealthy nations, so that a few wealthy elites profit and may set up world governance and as its' new leaders.
    People who take issue with control of population do not understand that if it is not done in a graceful way, nature will do it in a brutal fashion - Henry Kendall

    End foreign aid until America fixes it's own poverty first - me

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •