Emigrants will return if Hong Kong steps up its game, says Lee

Eunice Lam

As long as the city continues to develop more vigorously, Hongkongers who migrated overseas would "naturally return," says Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong's sole delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

On radio, lawmaker Lee said despite Hong Kong's troubles, the support of "its mother" - the central government - has been consistent under one country, two systems.

She said it is not the first time that Hong Kong has encountered a migration wave. "We can also learn from our previous experiences that, as long as Hong Kong develops more vigorously in a new era, many of those who migrated overseas would gradually return to the city," she said.

Lee added that while it is challenging to implement patriotic education in Hong Kong, she emphasized that all sovereign countries promote a sense of belonging in which people defend their nation just like "protecting their families."

Ahead of the Two Sessions in Beijing next month, Lee said she has been preparing suggestions, including building Hong Kong into a high-end talent hub and proposing ways to attract highly skilled professionals through measures involving special subsidies and tax policies and having more international schools.

Lee said she would suggest gradual expansion of the multiple-entry individual visit scheme from Shenzhen residents to the whole Greater Bay Area.

Additionally, Lee called on the government to consider a change in the city's economic structure, which she said is still dominated by the traditional economy.