Hong Kong Watch publishes advocacy survey results after consulting with global diaspora

In August, Hong Kong Watch distributed an advocacy survey to the Hong Kong diaspora around the world. The survey received over 100 responses from Hong Kongers in the UK, Canada, US, EU, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The survey asked participants to write, without prompting, which issues in their region of residence affect them most. The following were identified as the top issues:

  • Domestic issues, including high living costs and difficulties finding jobs and integrating into the community.

  • Equality for British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders, including BNO visa holders being ineligible to access eGates, customs agents being unfamiliar with the BNO passport, and the UK government charging BNO Hong Kongers international fees at UK universities.

  • Lifeboat issues, including the need to expand the BNO scheme to those born before the 1997 handover of Hong Kong. Hong Kongers in Canada expressed concerns around the backlog of Hong Kong Pathway applications.

  • Transnational repression, including foreign interference by the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong governments, and the withholding of Hong Kongers’ Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) retirement savings.

Survey respondents were then asked to write what issues in Hong Kong affect them most. They expressed concerns about the 2020 National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, particularly in regard to how it will affect their family and friends in the city.

Following the public survey, Hong Kong Watch held a call with the diaspora on 15 November 2024 to discuss the results and gather further input for future advocacy efforts. We look forward to incorporating both the survey results and the feedback from the consultation call into our advocacy work in 2025.

You can read the full briefing on the survey results here.

香港監察發表海外港人倡議諮詢結果

今年8月，香港監察向身處世界各地的海外港人發放倡議諮詢問卷調查。問卷收集了超過100名現居英國、加拿大、美國、歐盟、香港、台灣、日本、澳洲和紐西蘭的港人回覆。

諮詢問卷請回覆者在沒有提示的情況下填寫哪些現居地區問題對他們影響最大。以下為首要問題：

  • 本地生活問題，包括生活成本高，以及尋找工作和融入社區上的困難。

  • BNO簽證持有人的權利，包括BNO簽證持有人未能使用eGate、海關人員不熟悉BNO護照，以及英國政府向BNO港人收取英國大學國際生學費。

  • 救生艇問題，包括擴大BNO計劃至1997年主權移交前出生的合資格港人。在加港人亦對「Hong Kong Pathway」永久居留申請積壓問題表示憂慮。

  • 跨國鎮壓，包括中國和香港政府的外國干預，以及海外港人被扣押強積金退休儲蓄。

問卷之後請回覆者填寫哪些香港問題對他們影響最大。他們對2020年實施的《國家安全法》和2024年實施的《維護國家安全條例》表示憂慮，特別是擔心這將如何影響他們在香港的家人和朋友。

為跟進問卷結果，香港監察於11月15日召開網上諮詢會議，與海外港人討論調查結果並為未來倡議工作收集進一步意見。我們期待將問卷結果和諮詢會議中聽到的意見納入2025年的倡議工作中。

你可在這裏閱讀有關諮詢問卷結果的完整簡報。

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