Dr. Nan M. Sussman has written a featured article in the July 2011 edition of the Hong Kong Journal entitled “Resilient Returnees: Hong Kongers Come Home.”
Dr. Sussman is a professor of Psychology at The City University of New York’s College of Staten Island, and former chair of the Department of Psychology, where she teaches a course on Psychology and Chinese Culture.
EXCERPT: By my estimation, nearly 500,000 Hong Kongers have returned home since their unprecedented emigration between 1984 and 1997. After the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration by the governments of Great Britain and the People’s Republic of China, the looming return of Hong Kong to China’s sovereignty prompted more than 800,000 to leave, equal to one-sixth of the entire population of the territory. The motivation was uniform—“handover anxiety”—and the response built to a crescendo by 1992. While more than 20 countries welcomed these middle class, well-educated and bilingual immigrants, 76% entered either Australia, Canada or the United States. In contrast to past migrations, this one often included multiple generations; 35% of them held professional and managerial jobs compared to 12% of the general population; 15% were university graduates compared to 5.2%. Read more from the Hong Kong Journal>
