Over the past week, thousands of Hongkongers have been leaving the city, with no plans to come back.

According to estimated government figures, about a thousand people a day are leaving the city permanently.

While some of them have chosen to go to Taiwan, Canada, Australia, and the U.S., most are heading to the UK, according to The Washington Post.

The British government has offered citizenship to up to five million residents from Hong Kong, in response to the controversial national security law imposed by Beijing last year.

Beijing has threatened retaliation against the UK for such an offer, saying they will "bear all the consequences", The Guardian reported.

Many of those leaving cited reasons such as the tough crackdown by Beijing, which has stripped away their political freedoms and the city's once vibrant civil society, as well as the government's forceful push for a pro-Beijing patriotic education.

Carrie Lam weighs in

Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam, however, did not seem too bothered by the recent exodus.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), at a press briefing on Tuesday (July 20), Lam dismissed concerns sparked by the exodus of Hongkongers.

She said, “For those who feel a sense of belonging to Hong Kong and are willing to toil away here, this is the best time. But if they choose to leave, this is a personal decision.”

She added that her government had no official position on this occurrence, saying that Hong Kong has a "prosperous future".

Lam added that such emigration trends come up every now and then in the city's history, according to The Standard.

Hong Kong has gone through waves of emigration previously, with the most significant one taking place ahead of the 1997 handover to China.

As many as half a million had moved to countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia, according to estimates by sociology professor Janet Salaff of the University of Toronto.

Exodus part of a trend

The recent emigration statistics are indicative of a wider trend of Hong Kong youth who wish to leave the city for good.

According to a recent survey by the Chinese University’s Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies in April, almost 60 per cent of Hong Kong's youth said that they would emigrate if given the chance, reported SCMP.

The survey also found that youths are not optimistic about Hong Kong's future, giving an average rating of 2.95 out of 10.

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