A STUDY OF HONG KONG IMMIGRANTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

On the 4th June 1989, the military crackdown of the student pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square,China shocked the whole world. In particular, the crackdown had terribly shaken the confidence of the HongKongers in the Chinese Government. They feared on the day when Hong Kong is returned to China i,1 1997, she will lose her political freedom and economic prosperity. Many of her people are trying frantically to secure citizenships in countries such as Canada, United States and United Kingdom in hope of a better and more secured future. Singapore has her fair share of these Hong Kong immigrants. Coincidentally, in the wake of the crackdown, the Singapore Gcvernment was adopting an 'open door' immigration policy in a bid to attract worldwide talents to Singapore to fuel her economic success. This policy was welcomed with open arms by the prospective Hong Kong immigrants. Indeed, Singapore is a favorite place for some of the immigrants as she is also an Asian country, thus the immigrants should not face much obstacles in settling down here. But is this necessarily true? What are the potential problems that are awaiting the Hong Kong immigrants? What are the problems that are facing Singaporeans and her economy as a result of this influx of HongKongers? Will Hong Kong immigrants help to alleviate the shortage of labor supply here? What are the impacts on our social and enonomy development, expenditure pattern and GNP? Some Singaporeans have expressed fear that having this influx of Hong Kong immigrants would mean stiffer competition for jobs in the domestic job market. Other Singaporeans have reservation about the undesirable social influences these immigrants might bring along with them. It is hoped that this academic exercise will serve as an empirical study of the Hong Kong immigrants in Singapore.