HUNDREDS of thousands of Hong Kong nationals are expected to leave their home country for the UK in the coming years – and many are choosing Warrington as their new hometown.
So why is the town becoming a hotspot for ex-pat Hongkongers, and what does it mean for residents?
Hong Kong has experienced something of a mass exodus over the past year after the Chinese Government imposed new laws criminalising protests in June 2020.
Critics of Beijing have been left fearing for their safety as a result.
A visa scheme allowing natives of Hong Kong – a former British colony – to apply for UK citizenship opened in February, with around 300,000 expected to apply over the next five years.
Manoj Patel, director of Warrington Business Park-based Hamlet Homes, told the Warrington Guardian: “It’s a big risk to relocate your whole family halfway around the world, packing everything you’ve known into a box and taking it over to this cold and rainy country.
“If people are prepared to do that, then clearly they feel a risk to their safety.”
Initially,…
