locating hong kong in the global networks of professional migrants

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Locating Hong Kong in theGlobal Networks of ProfessionalMigrantsWang Cangbai aa The University of Hong KongPublished online: 26 Apr 2011.

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Locating Hong Kong in the Global Networks of Professional Migrants

Wang Cangbai The University of Hong Kong

Introduction

Hong Kong as a migrant society has received considerable attention in migration literature. However, research and policy interests have focused on the new immigrants from Mainland China or the domestic workers from Southeast Asian countries, in particular the female workers from Philippine and Indonesia. The movement of highly-skilled migrants to Hong Kong has attracted much less attention. It is widely assumed that Hong Kong as a global city has a stable pool of professional migrants, and therefore it is never an issue to review the framework on attracting highly- skilled migrants in Hong Kong (Findlay, Li, Jowett & Skeldon, 1996, p. 50).

This paper shows that the statement that Hong Kong has a large and stable stock of highly skilled migrants is a misconception. In fact, the landscape of professional migrants in Hong Kong is undergoing significant transformation in both number and types, which provides us with an opportunity to examine the mechanism of talent attraction in Hong Kong. As the case of Hong Kong represents important general aspects of the dynamics of the skilled migrants of a global city, this study is beyond local significance.

This paper begins with a description of the demographic change of highly-skilled migrants in Hong Kong before and after 1997. It then compares the effectiveness and limitations of major propositions in explaining this demographic change. The author argues that government policies, which are overlooked by most migration theories, play important roles in steering the movement of skilled migrants in Hong Kong. After a review of Hong Kong's immigration polices before and after 1997, the author identifies a paradigm shift of Hong Kong's policies toward highly-

The Journal of Comparative Asian Development, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall 2006) 329

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330 The Journal of Comparative Asian Development

skilled migrants. The paper ends with an assessment and prediction of the new talent policies in Hong Kong.

The Changing Landscape of Highly-skilled Migrants in Hong Kong

Who are Highly-skilled Migrants in Hong Kong?

The term "highly-skilled workers" usually refers to people with tertiary educational attainment or expertise in a given field. It is a loosely defined category since its meaning varies from country to country. In the context of Hong Kong, the Census and Statistic Department of Hong Kong SAR Government categorizes the occupation of its working population into nine major groups, and people in the categories of "government administrators", "corporate managers", and "professionals" are generally regarded as highly-skilled workers ' . The term "migrant workers" is defined as people of non-Hong Kong residents staying in Hong Kong with working visas. It includes both skilled and non-skilled migrants in Hong Kong.

Based on the above definitions, the term "highly-skilled migrants in Hong Kong" refers to people of non-Hong Kong residents working in Hong Kong as government administrators, corporate managers or professionals. It thus excludes the domestic workers or housemaids coming from Southeast Asian countries and other non-skilled migrant workers.

The Number and Make-up of Highly-skilled Migrants in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a migrant society and its population is made up by a large number of entrants. In 1991, about 330,000 people in Hong Kong were non-Hong Kong residents, accounting for 6 percent of Hong Kong

1 People covered by these three categories include government administrators, corporate and small business managers, scientist, social scientist and other professionals, teaching professionals, doctors and medical professionals, lawyer, accountants, business related professionals, ITIcomputer professionals. See Census and Statistic Department, HKSAR (2002). 2001 Population Census: Main Tables. Hong Kong: HKSAR Government Print.

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Locating Hong Kong in the Global Networks of Professional Migrants 331

population. In 1996, the percentage increased to 9.4 percent, which means there were about 580,000 non-Hong Kong residents living in Hong Kong. However, in 2001, the rate dropped to 6.7 percent, and the number of non- Hong Kong residents decreased to 450,000 (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2001). Clearly, the overall number of migrant workers in Hong Kong has decreased in the past decade. As seen in Figure 1, 1996 is a dividing point in this demographic change. There was a stable increase of migrants in Hong Kong from 1991 to 1996. However, from 1996 onward, the number of migrants has decreased considerably.

400,MW)

'opulation

300,000

1996

Year

Figure I : Population of non-Hotlg Kong residents in HK, 1991, 1996, 2001

Source: Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR (2001). 2001 Population Census: Summary Results. HKSAR Government Print.

If we make a division of non-Hong Kong residents by nationality, we could see a more complex picture (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). During the period from 1991 to 2001, the numbers of Chinese (place of domicile other than Hong Kong), Filipinos, Indonesians and Indians have augmented consistently. By 2001, Filipinos have been the largest migrant group in Hong Kong, and Indonesians have been the one with the highest growth rate, though its number is far less than Filipinos. The number of non-Hong Kong born Chinese in Hong Kong also has been increasing after 1996, but the increasing rate is rather moderate compared with that

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of Filipinos and Indonesians. In contrast, the numbers of British, Americans, Canadians, and Japanese dropped sharply in the same period. It is particularly true for British. There were 175,395 British in Hong Kong in 1996, accounting for 2.8 percent of Hong Kong population. In 2001, the number dropped to 25,418, which occupied merely 0.4 percent of Hong Kong population.

Chinese Filipino Indonesian British Thai Japanese Amencan Canadian Indian, Others(inc1uding Pakistani, Nepalese)

Bangladeshi and SKI-Lankan

Nationality

Figure 2: Distribution by Nationality (non-Hong Kong residents only), 1991, 1996, 2001

Source: Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR (2001). 2001 Population Census:

Summary Results. HKSAR Government Print. As seen in Table 1, regarding distribution of occupations, most

Filipinos and Indonesians, who have become the growing migration population in Hong Kong, are unskilled workers. In contrast, most British, Japanese, Americans, Canadians, who take up employment as managers and professional, have been the declining migrant groups in Hong Kong. Chinese and Indians are in between, with an equal distribution of the population in skilled and unskilled fields of occupations. This shows that Hong Kong is still a welcome destination for non-skilled workers in Asia. However, it has been losing its attractiveness to highly-skilled workers, especially the Westerners. Hong Kong is facing a serious "brain drain crisis".

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Figure 3: Distribution of Population by Nationality (non-Hong Kong residents only), 1991, 1996,2001

Source: Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR (2001). 2001 Population Census: Summary Results. HKSAR Government Print.

Table I : Occupation and Ethnicity (%) Source: Census and Statistic Department, HKSAR (2001). 2001 Population Census:

Main Tables. Hong Kong Government Print.

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Explanations

Political Explanations: Mobility is Associated with Change of Sovereignty

An immediate answer to the decline in the number of highly-skilled migrants in Hong Kong before 1997 is possibly the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to People's Public of China. With the British departure, the presence of British armed forces, civil services and government-related posts rundown. This partly explains the sharp decline of British in Hong Kong. In addition, there was widely an uncertainty among Western countries over the implementation of "one country, two systems" framework in Hong Kong before the handover. A series of legal and political controversies that took place in Post-1997 Hong Kong have proved this worry. These controversies include different interpretations of the Basic Law by China and Hong Kong on the right of abode in Hong Kong for Mainland China-born children of Hong Kong permanent residents, on the National Security Bill in Hong Kong, and on the legislation for universal suffrage in Hong Kong2. The concern over Hong Kong's future makes it reluctant for foreigners to stay or come to Hong Kong to live and work. For example, in a study of the expatriate engineers in Hong Kong, over half of the respondents planned to leave Hong Kong before 1997 mainly to continue employment in their home countries or in other countries (Findlay & Li, 1998, p. 696).

New International Division of Labor: Mobility is Associated with Movement of Economic Capital

This framework believes that international capitals flow in the globe to maximize investment profit. Large multinational companies set up branches in newly industrialized countries with lower costs. This global shift of capital and production location produces a global distribution of small pools of skilled expatriates to cities where technical and managerial expertise are needed, which is achieved through intra-company transfers

2 See Chris Yeung, "NPC Lays Down the Law," South China Morning Post, 27 June 1999; Anon., "Tung Backs Down-For Now," Far East Economic Review, Vol. 166, Iss. 28 (2003), p.8, and Keith Bradsher, "Hong Kong Votes Down Political Overhaul," International Herald Tribune, 22 Dec 2005.

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and recruitment (Salt & Findlay, 1989; Pang, 1994; Kim, 1996). This theory is also applicable to the case of Hong Kong. In the past

decade, with the rise of labor and land cost in Hong Kong, the whole manufacture industry has moved to the Mainland and some Southeast Asian countries. Other industries including accounting and banking also have moved part of their businesses to the Mainland. The movement of capital has led to shrink of employment opportunities in Hong Kong for professionals and managers.

Under this condition, highly-skilled workers, including both foreign expatriates and local Hong Kong people, have moved to places other than Hong Kong in order to seek higher salary and wages or more rewarding employment opportunities. Mainland China is definitely one of the popular destinations. According to Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong SAR Government (2005), the number of Hong Kong residents working in the Mainland has almost doubled in the past decade, from 122,300 in 1995 to 237,500 in 2005. About 42 percent of them have achieved tertiary educational attainment, and over four-fifth of them were engaged at the higher end of occupation hierarchy. Among them, 35.6 percent were managers and administrators, and another 45.4 percent were professionals (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2005).

Migration as a Social Process: Mobility is Associated with Social Capital

Some others argue that "contemporary migration should be analyzed within the context of a broad understanding of migration as a social process, with its own inherent dynamics" (Castles, 2004, p. 870). They emphasize the self-sustaining nature of migratory processes and the role of migration networks, family and community and position within the lifecycle of migrants. Social networks not only provide vital resources for easing movement and seeking employment opportunities, but also in adaptation and community formation. However, in Hong Kong, most of the migrant population is transient in nature. Except for Indians and Pakistani, there are perhaps no rooted migrant communities in Hong Kong. Without strong connection to local society, it is difficult to retain expatriates in Hong Kong when political or economic difficulties are encountered.

All these frameworks are useful in accounting for the issue of brain drain in Hong Kong. And many of the key factors identified in the above-

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mentioned frameworks should be incorporated into the framework in studying highly-skilled migrants in Hong Kong and elsewhere. However, one element, the role of governmental policies, has not been given sufficient attention by researchers on the topic of international migration. Governmental policies determine the number and type of migrants in a country or a place in a direct way, and play important roles in steering the talent attraction process. The author believes that a lack of open and well- structured talent policy is a major reason for the brain drain emerged in Hong Kong. A review and analysis of the talent policy in Hong Kong will be briefly examined in the subsequent section.

A Review of the Policies of Colonial Hong Kong on Highly-skilled Migrants

Lopsided Immigration Policy Framework

The British colonial Hong Kong government adopted an unbalanced immigration policy that gave priority to facilitate family reunion rather than importing highly-skilled migrants. As early as in 1980, a legal immigration channel was established in Hong Kong which aimed at allowing people with one-way exit permits from Mainland China to enter Hong Kong as settlers. Under this scheme, 75 people entered Hong Kong per day until the early 1994 when the quota was raised to 105 people per day. It has been further increased to 150 people per day since July 1995, which permits some 55,000 people to come to Hong Kong every year (Skeldon, 1995, p. 305).

These entrants are dependents of Hong Kong residents. Most of them are women and children from rural South China. While they have offset the population decline in Hong Kong and helped sustain Hong Kong's population growth, they have made little contribution to the quality of improvement in Hong Kong.

Pitfalls in Policies on Admission of Highly-skilled Migrants

Immigration of highly-skilled workers was not given equal attention in Hong Kong. For a long time, there were no clearly defined and well structured policies to import highly-skilled workers in Hong Kong. Two policy pitfalls are identified. The first one was the adoption of a biased

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definition of highly-skilled workers, and the second was a lack of permanent settlement policy.

1. A biased definition of highly-skilled workers During the colonial period, there was no restriction on the entry and the number of non-Chinese (mostly the Westerners) to come to work in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese, in contrast, were never regarded as potential talents to be imported. The colonial government did not recognize the tertiary educational attainment and professional qualifications of mainlanders. Only overseas Chinese with foreign permanent residency or foreign citizenship, or Mainland Chinese who have lived overseas for at least two years were permitted to take up employment in Hong Kong. This narrow-sighted and discriminated policy precluded the possibility to build up a large stock of talents with diverse backgrounds for the long- term interest of Hong Kong. After British and Western professionals left Hong Kong in large numbers, a shortage of qualified manpower has turned to be a serious problem that begins to hinder Hong Kong's economic development.

2. A lack of permanent settlement policy for highly-skilled migrants In spite of the fact that foreign professionals (excluding Mainland Chinese) could come to work in Hong Kong, they could only become permanent residents after having stayed in Hong Kong continuously for seven years. Before the seventh year, they all stay on a temporary basis and are required to leave Hong Kong when their contracts expire. This policy makes it hard for overseas professional talents to make long-term life plans because of the difficulty in predicting the length of time that they could stay. As a result, Hong Kong becomes a crossroad for people to move in and move out. Very few people really settle permanently in Hong Kong (see Figure 4).

A Paradigm Shift of Hong Kong's Policies towards Highly-skilled Migrants

To Include Mainlander Professionals as Potential Talents

The Hong Kong government began to pay attention to admit Mainland professionals with the approach of 1997. A pilot scheme was introduced

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in 1993 to bring 1,000 Mainlander professionals into Hong Kong, partly to fill the technical positions in local companies, partly to allow a smooth transition of Hong Kong through their understanding of both Hong Kong and China. Demands by Hong Kong companies far exceeded the number of places available (Skeldon, 1994, p. 174).

<1 1-3 4-6 7-9 1 O+

Duntlon of Residence (Year)

Figure 4: Population by Duration of Residence in HK and Nationality, 2001 Source: Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR (2002). 2001 Population Census:

Main Tables. HKSAR Government Print.

From 1997 onward, Hong Kong SAR Government has made several cautious moves towards opening doors to Mainland professionals. It implemented two initial schemes to attract talents and professionals from the Mainland. One is the Admission of Talent Scheme, incepted in December 1999, and the other is the Admission of the Mainland Professional Scheme, launched in June 2001. These two sets of schemes could hardly meet the growing demand for Mainland professionals as they set rigid restrictions on the qualifications and fields of occupations of the applicants, and did not allow successful applicants to bring their dependants to Hong Kong. It is recorded that there were only 256 successful applicants under the first scheme, and from June 2001 to December 2002, only 453 Mainland professionals were attracted under the second scheme. In contrast, approximately 16,700 foreign skilled

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migrants were admitted to Hong Kong each year between 1997 and 200 1 3.

The above two schemes were replaced by the Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals on July 15, 2003. The new scheme is quota- free. Earlier restrictions on specific business sectors have been removed and the admission of dependent family members has been lifted. The number of talents and professionals to be admitted under the Scheme will be regulated only by the demand in the local human resources market. However, applicants need to secure a job offer beforehand. This new scheme has been more successful than the old ones. By March 2006, Immigration Department has received over 12,100 entry applications from Mainland talents and professionals. Among them, 10,104 have been approved (Commission on Strategic Development Committee on Social Development and Quality of Life, 2006, p. 11).

To Implement a Permanent Settlement Policy for Highly-Skilled Migrants

Iradale (2000, pp. 882-906) identifies two policy frameworks in the movement of highly-skilled migrants. One is aimed at permitting permanent settlement of highly-skilled migrants, and the other is designed to enable short-term movement. According to Iradale, the former framework is country controlled, and migrants are to fill skilled labor shortage to ensure economic growth or to improve the long-term stock of brains. The later is more closely related to the movement of capital and trade and tends to be temporary.

Apparently, all the above-summarized Hong Kong immigration policies are designed to enable short-term movements. In 2006, we see a paradigm shift in Hong Kong's migration policy: a shift from enabling temporary stay to encouraging permanent settlement. On July 1, 2006, a so-called Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) was introduced in Hong Kong, which for the first time in Hong Kong's history grants permanent residency to qualified applicants. There are three significant features of this new policy. The first one is the Point System in assessing applicants, which is an emulation of the immigration system of other Western immigration countries (Canada and Australia in particular). The

3 Hong Kong Task Force on Population Policy (2003), Report of Task Force on Population Policy. Hong Kong: Printing Department, P. 25. http://www.info.gov.hWinfo/ population/eng/index.htm

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second one is equal treatment towards Mainland Chinese and foreigners in granting admission. The third one is that there is no need for applicants to secure a job offer beforehand under this new scheme. It aims at attracting quality personnel from all over the world to develop their career or business in Hong Kong. An initial annual quota is 1,000 people per year.

Applicants may choose to be assessed by one of the two Points-based Tests. One is "General Points Test", and the other is "Achievement-based Points Test". There are five point-scoring factors in the General Points Test, which are age (maximum 30 points), academic/professional qualifications (45 points), working experiences (50 points), language proficiency (20 points) and family background (20 points). The maximum is 165 points, and the prevailing minimum passing mark is 80.

"Achievement-based Points Test" caters to the entry of individuals with exceptional talent and outstanding achievements. They are assessed under one scoring factor only. Those who met the criteria will be awarded 165 points; otherwise will be refused immediately. The possible criteria include: the awards of exceptional achievement (e.g. Olympic games medals, Nobel Prize, nationallinternational awards); or acknowledgment of significant contribution to the development of the field of the applicants, such as lifetime achievement award from industry. (Immigration Department, HKSAR, 2006)

Assessment and Prediction

It may be too early to make an overall assessment of the Quality Migration Admission Scheme. However, it is safe to say that the achievement it has made so far is limited. This is reflected in the small number of highly-skilled migrants attracted under the scheme, and the unbalance in term of the types of imported talents.

First, by the First of November 2006, five months after the implementation of this new policy, the Immigration Department of Hong Kong SAR Government has only received 479 applications, most of which are from Mainland China. About 83 of them are approved ("Editorial", Ming Pao, November 8, 2006). This is far below the annual quota of 1,000 people per year set by the government

Second, the "Achievement-based Point Test" is more attractive and effective in admitting migrants than the "General Point Test". In fact, people who really benefit from this scheme are the renowned artists and

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Locating ffong Kong in the Global Networks of Professionat Migrants 34 1

sportsmen, such as Olympic gold medal winners or distinguished musicians and performers4. However, it is far more difficult for ordinary young foreign talents without glory awards to migrate to Hong Kong under this scheme. World-class artists and sportsmen are helpful in improving Hong Kong's image. However, in my point of view, what Hong Kong earnestly need is a large number of ordinary but energetic and educated young people who could help fill the shortage of skilled manpower. In this sense, the new scheme is far from being successful.

Castles (2004, p. 871) aptly contends that "understanding of the migratory process and transnational factors must be linked to an analysis of the way of policy formation which takes place in states and supranational bodies. This includes examining interests and the way they are articulated, as well as the way the political system functions". The end result of Hong Kong's admission of highly-skilled migrants, in my point of view, depends on the possibility to achieve balance between the following three groups of factors.

A Balance between the Interests of Employers and the Interests of Labor Force

There has always been a high demand for highly-skilled migrant workers by employers to fill the shortage of manpower in Hong Kong and to maintain its economic development. However, local workers generally oppose recruitment of overseas talents in their own interests. The Hong Kong government could not easily decide to favor the interest of one group and ignore the others. It has to balance the competing interests, convincing that the change of immigration policy would bring long-term benefits to the whole society. This explains the cautious approach of Hong Kong in advancing its immigration policy. For example, the QMAS favors admitting artists and sportsmen but sets high admission points for other applicants, partly because it is supposed that competitions between Hong Kong labor force and the celebrities are much less than that between Hong Kong labor force and Mainland skilled workers.

4 It is reported that Chinese pianist Li Yundi and Lang Lang are among the first group of talents who are admitted under this scheme. See "Editorial", Ming Pao, 8 November 2006.

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A Balance between Maintaining a Hong Kong Identity and Embracing a Mainland China Identity

Another force that opposes the importation of highly-skilled migrants is the public intention to defend Hong Kong identity. There is still a clear- cut geographic and cultural boundary between Hong Kong and Mainland China due to huge differences in social and legal systems. The public media has created a backward and uncivilized image of China through repetitive coverage of the negative side of mainland China, such as food positioning, mine accidents and rural poverty. The strength of Hong Kong-centric ideology makes it easy to mobilize public opinion against immigration from Mainland China. At the same time, Mainland professionals have a biased comment on Hong Kong. To many of them, Hong Kong is a place of extremely high living expenses, intense working pressure, congested living conditions and Westernized social and cultural atmosphere. While young Mainland people have an interest to experience Hong Kong's metropolitan culture and widen their vision, middle-aged Mainland talents hesitate to come to work in Hong Kong as they already have their careers in the Mainland and they anticipate great difficulties in assimilating into Hong Kong society5. Similar to the case in Europe, immigration policy in Hong Kong could shift from being seen as an economic issue to an identity issue if it is not being handled properly.

A Balance between Demand for Talents and Restructuring of Industry

Various studies show that the number and types of highly-skilled migrants is to a large extent determined by the industrial structure of a city. Cities with different industrial structures need and attract different kinds of migrants. Normally speaking, larger industrial scale and higher industrial level creates more employment positions and guarantee better career prospects. Hong Kong is in urgent need to fill the shortage of talents. However, Hong Kong is at a crucial point of restructuring its economy from a manufacture-based economy to a knowledge-based one. There are hot debates over the location of pillar industries in Hong Kong, and it is

5 Wang Cangbai, "Some Reflections on the Talent Policies in Hong Kong", Ming Po, August 1, 2006.

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Locating Horzg Kong in the Global Networks of Professional Migrants 343

not yet clear to which way that Hong Kong government will direct its economy. As long as Hong Kong lacks a clearly-defined and well- structured economic blueprint, the true tidal influx of highly-skilled migrants will never come.

Conclusion

This study looks at the most recent change of Hong Kong population with a special emphasis on the highly-skilled migrants. It shows that the landscape of professional migrants in Hong Kong has changed dramatically after 1997 in both number and types, and Hong Kong is now facing a serious brain-drain crisis due to the outflow of professional migrants. This demographic change offers an opportunity to examine the mechanism of talent attraction in global cities. While major propositions in migrant literature offer useful explanations for the demographic change in Hong Kong, the author believes that the role of government policy is a key but neglected factor.

The author argues that the current brain drain in Hong Kong is to a large extent due to the lack of an open and well-structured talent policy. After a systematic review of Hong Kong's immigration policy before and after 1997, the author identifies a paradigm shift of talent policy in Hong Kong, which is featured by an equal treatment to mainlanders and foreigners in granting admission and the implementation of a permanent settlement policy for highly-skilled migrants. The author believes that this is a positive move to improve Hong Kong's population policy and to attract talents. However, the end result of the new policies depends on the possibility to maintain balance between groups of factors, among which, the interests of employers and the interests of labor forces, between a Hong Kong identity and a China identity and between demand for talents and restructuring of Hong Kong industry are the most pertinent ones.

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locating hong kong in the global networks of professional migrants

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