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PUBLISHED : Saturday, 26 September, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Saturday, 26 September, 2015, 12:01am
Hong Kong's second generation is coming home under a new government scheme.
A pilot immigration scheme for second-generation overseas Hongkongers had seen 58 applications approved in its first three months, up to the end of August.
The Immigration Department said it received about 370 inquiries and 119 applications. Most of the successful applicants had come from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, it added.
READ MORE: Is Hong Kong turning Japanese?
The figures came as new population projections showed the city's labour force will shrink by 500,000 people - 14 per cent of the workforce of 3.6 million last year - in the next 50 years.
The dependency ratio - the number of working people for every non-worker - will get worse. Last year, there were three workers for every five dependents; by 2064, it will be five workers to four dependents.
"[Those from] the Netherlands … have even less ties with Hong Kong as their parents emigrated earlier ... and have a better education and social background than most Hongkongers," said demographic expert and professor at the University of Hong Kong, Paul Yip Siu-fai.
Yip added he was very encouraged by the positive start to the government initiative, one of several intended to attract talent to the city amid a growing manpower shortage. Applicants must be aged 18 to 40, have a university degree, understand English or Chinese and prove they can afford to live in the city.
But the lack of objective statistics on the scheme meant it wasn't included in the population projections, said census commissioner Leslie Tang.
READ MORE: Visa scheme for second generation takes flight
The labour force is expected to peak in 2018 at 3.65 million, but slowly decrease to 3.1 million by 2064. The labour force will flatline for a few years in 2031 to 2038, as around 30 per cent of the Hong Kong children born to non-Hong Kong parents - "type-two" babies - are expected to return to live, work and study in the city.
"This projection of 30 per cent of type-two babies is more realistic," said Yip, compared with their estimation of 50 per cent in the previous projection.
A major source to replenish the population would be one-way permit holders - mainlanders granted Hong Kong residency. If the quota stays at 150 per day, an estimated 1.9 million would have migrated to Hong Kong by 2064, though Tang said this number may dwindle to nearer 100 a day in the future.
But Labour Party lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said the government should not rely only on migrants to deal with the issue.
"The government hasn't done what it can regarding encouraging people to have more children," Lee said.
"Paternity leave is useless and there is still insufficient children daycare. They've paid lip service but more concrete policies are necessary."
Lee added more effort should be put into raising productivity of Hongkongers rather than relying solely on imported workers.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1861510/hong-kongs-second-generation-emigrants-return
