Hong Kong expats eye exit as protests threaten 'world city'

HONG KONG - Like many expatriates in Hong Kong, Madeline Bardin is thinking more and more about leaving.

Hong Kong's ability to assimilate people from around the globe has helped turn the former British colony into one of the world's biggest financial and commercial hubs. But that status is increasingly under threat as expats and their employers weigh the costs of committing to a city mired in its worst political crisis since the handover to China in 1997.

Just a few hours after the Fitch statement on Friday, police used tear gas in a populated area to disperse protesters who dismantled traffic lights and started fires. On Saturday, protesters blocked a main road in Mong Kok, a busy shopping and residential district, and burned a barricade near the police station before being chased off by hundreds of riot cops.

Applications for general employment visas dropped 7 per cent in August from a year earlier, after rising on an annual basis for most of 2019, according to official figures. The number of mobile residents - those who recently spent between one and three months in the city - fell 4.1 per cent in the first half, the biggest decline in a decade.

For all its challenges, Hong Kong has plenty of foreigners committed to the city for the long haul. Several foreigners have been notable fixtures at the demonstrations, offering support to protesters, live-streaming clashes with police on Twitter, and in at least one case drawing the ire of pro-Beijing lawmakers.

The outlook could get worse if the trend toward increased violence by some protesters persists. Hong Kong's government hasn't ruled out invoking the city's emergency law, which could allow it to disrupt Internet service and seize property. Meanwhile, China has signalled repeatedly that it could send in the People's Liberation Army if necessary to quell the unrest.

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