Whispering a fond adieu

A growing number of Hong Kong people are leaving. There is concern it could lead to a brain drain, but some experts are more optimistic. Wang Yuke reports from Hong Kong.

Sheilla Xia, a mother of two young children, is bidding farewell to Hong Kong — a city she has called her second home for more than a decade.

She relishes the years she has spent in this vibrant city, where she got her teaching career off the ground, set up a happy family of four and enjoyed an ever-expanding social network. But with a heavy heart, Xia and her husband have resolved to return to their hometown in Shandong province, leaving all the fond memories behind them.

"The unrelenting pandemic, a listless economy and the upheavals here in recent years have forced me to make up my mind. My chief concern revolves around my children, their education, mindsets and future," says Xia.

"Hong Kong, undoubtedly, provides quality education. That's not an issue with me. What I'm worried about is whether my children will have bright prospects in their careers, balanced views (on controversies), and if there are ample opportunities and a big stage for them to play on when they grow up."

Xia says that young people on the Chinese mainland are becoming more creative and enlightened with greater exposure to novel gadgets, technologies and concepts from all around the world.

"They think big and do big. They are perching atop China, gazing at what's happening in the world. I want my children to have that vision and outlook."

The prolonged pandemic in Hong Kong has already taken a toll on Xia's family, with her two children, aged 3 and 1, having returned to Shandong last year with their father.