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Emigration plummets
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A LITTLE more than 10,000 people immigrated to other countries from Hong Kong last year, the lowest level in two decades.
Statistics issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department show that the number of emigrants has undergone a steady decrease since 1995 before reaching its lowest point in the year 2000 when 11,900 people emigrated abroad, down 7.8 per cent from 1999.
An official with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said the decrease in the number of emigration indicates that the local people have greater faith in Hong Kong's prospects. Emigration levels have been dropping ever since China resumed its exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, said the official, and even the Asian Financial Crisis failed to trigger a new wave of emigration.
The official attributes the growing faith of Hong Kongers in the future to China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization, which is expected to bring more business opportunities to Hong Kong, the economic recovery predicted by Financial Secretary Donald Tsang and the fall in unemployment rates.
The United States, Canada and Australia are still the most popular emigration destinations for Hong Hongers, but some people predicted that the Chinese mainland is likely to become the hottest place for emigration before long. (SD News)
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