Online Desk :
Hong Kong’s population shrunk at a record pace of 1.2% over the past 12 months amid Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the city and pandemic-induced lockdown.
According to estimations released by the Census and Statistics Department Thursday, Hong Kong’s population at the end of June saw a drop of almost 90,000 from the same month last year.
This marks the biggest rate of population decline in Hong Kong since 1961 when the city began keeping records.
A government spokesperson clarified that the decrease in population is not a direct reflection of emigration and that other factors, such as Covid-19 restrictions and severe interruption of international travel, should be taken into consideration.
Hong Kong saw a mass exodus of its residents in the past months following the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law, which criminalises acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
In January, the UK began offering a route to permanent settlement and citizenship to holders of British National (Overseas) status in Hong Kong.
It is estimated that upward of 300,000 people will take up the offer over the next five years, according to a report from Britain’s Home Office.
