WC4HK serves to help coordinate the UK’s welcoming efforts across civil society, communities, business, education and government, and capacity and capability building for the welcoming groups. In the view of this, we surveyed the organisations engaged in welcoming Hong Kongers between July and August 2023 to understand more about priority issues, factors that enable and constrain effective welcoming, and the needs of organisations delivering welcoming work, and to enhance the understanding amongst the network, as well as for WC4HK to shape our future services. 

A survey in 2021 reveals that more than 40% of the Hong Kong new arrivals are interested in setting up their own business in the UK. This group of potential entrepreneurs could bring a positive impact to the UK’s economy. It’s been more than 2 years since the BN(O) visa scheme first launched. Some of the Hong Kongers have already set up their business in the country. You may find them from catering to fashion industry, from traditional Tuina treaphy service to cement handicraft products.

While over 144,000 Hong Kongers have moved to the UK in 2 years since the launch of BN(O) visa scheme, many Hong Kongers have also moved to other places to start their new lives. Popular destinations include Canada, Australia and Taiwan. Our April forum invited overseas organisations which support Hong Kongers to settle in to share their insights. It aims to learn from the overseas experience and understand what possible challenges the Hong Kongers may face during integration, to give the local welcoming groups some inspirations on current and future welcoming work for Hong Kongers.

Hong Kongers’ priorities considering settling in location include the quality of local schools, the availability of good housing, low crime rates, good job opportunities and a relaxed pace of life (see report published by WC4HK). As a result, some areas of the UK have proven more popular with Hong Kongers while others have attracted relatively few and stand to miss out on the benefits Hong Kongers bring. The March forum aims to explore the topic of spreading the gains across all nations, specifically Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

As part of the integration, not only are the Hong Kongers eager to be part of the local community, they are also ready to show the others about Hong Kong culture and traditions and contribute to the cultural diversity. A recent survey shows preserving Hong Kong culture and language to their next generation is one of the Hong Kong new arrivals’ major concerns.

With no exception for Hong Kongers, cost of living is no doubt a top concern for households in 2022. It is even more pressing when it comes to the Christmas season. The December forum with the topic “Housing and cost of living”, explored various housing challenges faced by the Hong Kongers, and the difficulties faced amidst the cost of living crisis.

Many welcoming groups have noticed the needs of the newly arrived Hong Kongers, and carried out some meaningful programmes to help them develop friendship and buddying. In the October forum, the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers (WC4HK) is honoured to have Michael Smith of Wales Strategic Migration Partnership to chair, and Kitty Ng from Colchester Life in the UK CIC and Nigel Paterson from Kings Community Church to share their experiences with our forum members.