Hongkongers are meeting with migration consultants and making plans for a once-in-a-lifetime move abroad. Meanwhile, entrepreneur Allan Zeman is right where he wants to be.
Speaking with local outlet Ming Pao in an interview published Tuesday, Zeman laughed off the recent emigration wave and said life abroad is not as rosy as many would believe.
“I’ve seen this movie before,” the tycoon said, adding that he witnessed mass migration following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to countries like Canada and Australia, and again before the city’s 1997 return to mainland China.
Many Hongkongers who moved, he said, returned years later after realizing living overseas was not what they had expected the experience to be.
The passing of the national security law has sparked an interest in emigration among Hongkongers, who fear that the sweeping legislation could impact the city’s cherished rights and freedoms. Emigration companies have seen a rise in inquiries from families weighing the prospects of a new life abroad.
Zeman, who holds a pro-government stance, is best known for being the “father” of nightlife district Lan Kwai Fong and reviving a languishing Ocean Park in the mid 2000s.
Born to a Jewish family in Germany, Zeman grew up in Canada and moved to Hong Kong in his 20s where he made his first fortune trading clothing products. In the 1980s, he purchased a narrow street in Central, marking the start of his career as an entertainment operator and property developer in Lan Kwai Fong.
He is a prominent member of several government circles and is also an economic adviser to Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
In the interview with Ming Pao, he said that people who have lost confidence in the city’s police force and are worried about personal safety in Hong Kong pay too much attention to the news.
Zeman took his spiel a step further in a China Daily video last week. Living in US, UK and Australia “sounds wonderful” and “is okay,” he said, adding that mainland China is where a wealth of opportunities await.
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