Tens of thousands of people have departed Hong Kong amid a crackdown on dissent in recent weeks. The China-run city-nation has placed an increased emphasis on patriotic propaganda in its education system and has jailed most of its political opposition for their involvement in the pro-democracy protests of 2019.
According to financial information service Webb-Site, Hong Kong recorded more than 72,000 net departures of its current residents through the international airport from July 1 to October 13. The daily figures were provided by the city’s immigration department, Radio Free Asia reported.
For the first half of 2021, the government’s population statistics recorded a fall of nearly 90,000 in the city’s population. The departures come at a time when a 21-day COVID-19 quarantine is in place for new arrivals.
