Return Migration and Identity: A Global Phenomenon, A Hong Kong Case

4 - Results from the Hong Kong Remigration Project

Results from the Hong Kong Remigration Project: Departing, adjusting, returning 4 During the Hong Kong Remigration Project, 50 respondents were interviewed resulting in over 100 hours of tape-recorded discussion. Each respondent was asked the same questions, but the ensuing conversations varied as their different answers led to unique follow-up questions. The full interview schedule can be viewed in Appendix A. The recordings were transcribed and coded for specific information and cultural transition domains. See Appendix B for details on the coding process. The transcription is exact and does not correct for grammatical mistakes on the part of the interviewee. Although native English speakers may find clarity moderately impaired, it was important to report the thoughts and sentiments of the participants in their own words. Occasionally a question to an interviewee or a restatement of an answer will appear in the text. In that case, the question is preceded by an “I,” indicating Interviewer; the interviewee’s remarks are signified by the letter “P,” indicating Participant response. Each participant was assigned a number that matches the demographic chart found in Appendix D. In this chapter, we will explore the findings related to why the interviewees left Hong Kong, issues of identity both predeparture and postadaptation, the adjustment period in either Canada or Australia, remigration decision making, and the initial emotional and behavioral responses to the interviewees’ return to Hong Kong. Why they left Hong Kong A substantial portion of the emigrants (66%) identified the impending handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China as the impetus for their 92 Return Migration and Identity immigrating. The prospect of economic and political life under Communist Chinese rule frightened the residents of the territory in which an open and profoundly capitalist economy flourished. In particular, those Hong Kongers who witnessed firsthand the 1949 Communist Revolution or the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s found the prospect of living under Chinese rule disturbing. Their concerns were exacerbated by the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square student democracy demonstrations in Beijing and the fatal consequences of the attempt by the People’s Liberation Army to quell the unrest. The pace of emigration subsequently increased. In addition to political concerns, emigrants also identified personal and economic reasons that motivated their desire to leave Hong Kong. A male respondent who left Hong Kong for Canada in 1988 at age 33 stated (P3): At that time, I think the British government is negotiating with the Chinese government of the handover. And when I was a kid, I was living in some of the islands in Hong Kong, and, you know, in the Cultural Revolution, at that time almost every day, I can see floating bodies coming from China. I was scared, about the Communism. And I don’t trust them. Similar sentiments were expressed by a female respondent who migrated to Canada in 1989 at age 28 (P28): Because our Chinese politic, they say that after takeover 1997 we don’t know what happen. Then I am scared because in Chinese you don’t have freedom of, no freedom, and then you don’t have the right to talk, so I scare. Also when I doing business, not business, I working in a Germany company, [I: A German company?] Yes, I am working in Chinese department. Then I have some contact with the Chinese people, and then I am scare of them. Because their mentality is too, is no good. Then I am scared. That’s why I think about it to move to other country. I want to have more freedom, I don’t know what happen in 1997. Note how this respondent refers to “Chinese people” as distinct from herself, a Hong Kong person. This distinction is one that has been identified by previous researchers and confirmed by many in our participant population as well. Identity issues will be discussed at length throughout this chapter. Another male who left for Canada in 1989 at age 31 responded in the following way (P42): 93 Results from the Hong Kong Remigration Project It’s like I think a lot of Hong Kong people think political instability. Also influence from my father because he has experienced the old type Chinese government, the style. He said better go, never trust the Chinese government, at that time. That’s why also, I listen to my parents and run away. For a male who immigrated to Australia in 1990, the...