Individual Concerns and Family Decisions: Examining Migration Decision-Making in the Latest Hong Kong Migration Wave

Abstract

Hong Kong is experiencing a migration wave after the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Movement. Current studies on this wave argue that political factors, focusing on post-material concerns is what drives this wave. While a sizable percentage of those who have left Hong Kong did so in family groups, we suggest any study has to cover all generations  in the decision-making process. Based on in-depth interviews, this study found that concerns over post-material and material concerns could be observed, to different extents, among different generations. Emotional responses to various incidents also played a role in the decision to emigrate. The decision-making process varied according to the stage of the family’s life cycle. Typically, parents’ power would be shared with their children when the family moved from the child-rearing stage to the child-launching stage. Grown-up children could initiate the discussion, and even migrate alone without parent’s consent. Grandparents were marginal in the decision-making process.