Hong Kong talent drive: as expats trickle in, wave of mainland Chinese sparks concern about city’s diversity, international status
Mainlanders made up more than nine in 10 of all approved to come under various talent schemes this yearForeigners arriving from UK, US and Australia from January to July comprised only a fifth of 2018 figureHong Kong economyLars HamerandLaura WestbrookPublished: 9:00am, 20 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
Hong Kong pulled out the stops to woo talent, but foreigners who left during the Covid-19 pandemic have been slow to return. In the first of a two-part series, Laura Westbrook and Lars Hamer describe the influx of mainland Chinese and what it might mean for the city.
Sichuan-born business analyst Wang Yu, 30, counts the ways life has turned out better for her since she moved to Hong Kong in January.
“I do not need VPN for YouTube, Twitter or Facebook, I get paid HK$15,000 [US$1,900] more and the tax is lower,” she said.
The workplace was also an improvement on the rigid office hierarchies and “rigorous overtime culture” in mainland China, she added.