Seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan’s decision to take up residency in Hong Kong under the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme makes him the perfect ambassador to share the true story of Hong Kong with the world.
It comes at an opportune time when Western media and governments, particularly the United States, have been relentlessly smearing Hong Kong, portraying it as a dangerous place lacking human rights. The US even issued a travel alert warning its citizens against visiting Hong Kong.
However, recent international findings completely debunked these defamations. The Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report , published by the Canada-based Fraser Institute, reaffirmed Hong Kong’s status as the world’s freest economy. The 36th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index gave Hong Kong a third-place ranking, up one notch from previously. Additionally, the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2024 highlighted Hong Kong’s robust legal system, which continues to thrive despite perennial badmouthing by its critics, including Western politicians and mainstream media, ranking sixth in the East Asia and Pacific region and 23rd globally out of 142 jurisdictions, higher than many leading Western democracies.
The director of immigration deserves commendation for his foresight in producing an official video to mark O’Sullivan’s arrival at Hong Kong International Airport and for conducting a personal interview with him. This video should be widely circulated on international social media, encouraging foreign viewers to reflect on why such a seasoned traveler, who has visited all renowned tourism hot spots, has chosen Hong Kong as his home. What more robust rebuttal could there be to the Western bashing of Hong Kong than to have a distinguished British national who has chosen to leave England to become a Hong Kong resident?
In his interview with the director of immigration, O’Sullivan expressed his enjoyment of the city, stating: “Your food, your culture — it’s just a great place to live. If you want a good life, you should come to Hong Kong.” This sentiment resonates with anyone who has visited the city and the many expatriates who have chosen to remain in Hong Kong after initially arriving for a fixed work period. Indeed, O’Sullivan’s enthusiasm fits in with the chief executive’s exhortation to tell the true Hong Kong story to more people around the world.
However, O’Sullivan did not mention that he may have been frustrated with Britain’s stagnant economy, shrinking incomes, and rising inflation. By the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the United Kingdom’s national debt stood at 2.6 trillion pounds ($3.1 trillion), or 98 percent of its GDP, or 37,900 pounds per capita. There are reportedly over 300,000 homeless individuals in Britain on any given night, while the national health, education and criminal justice systems are all facing severe funding shortages. Social unrest is growing, with alarming increases in crimes such as robbery, burglary and violent assaults. Statistics indicate a mobile-phone robbery occurs every six minutes, and one firearm is seized every day in the UK. The British enforcement and justice systems often seem to overlook these serious issues, with their primary solution being the release of thousands of prisoners to address overcrowding and inhumane conditions in prisons. According to an investment immigration consultancy, over 9,500 British citizens with more than $1 million in disposable assets are expected to leave the UK this year — double the number from the previous year.
O’Sullivan is not the only celebrity to take up residency in Hong Kong, as he was preceded by former NBA star Stephon Marbury, who benefited from the same program last year.
Seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan’s decision to take up residency in Hong Kong under the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme makes him the perfect ambassador to share the true story of Hong Kong with the world
These high-profile figures serve as a powerful counter to Western media’s constant carping of China as a whole and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region specifically. The HKSAR government should engage them as ambassadors-at-large for tourism and investment to attract more Western visitors and investors.
I wonder how those Hong Kong residents who have taken up the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme to emigrate to the UK are reacting. Many may be fans of O’Sullivan and could feel a sense of “betrayal”. They left stable jobs in Hong Kong — such as insurance agents, teachers and bank managers — to accept unstable, low-paying jobs in the UK, like warehouse workers and supermarket cashiers, with limited career advancement opportunities. They are not entitled to any social benefits but must pay an average 23.7 percent income tax and 20 percent value-added tax on most purchases and cover their own medical expenses, which are nearly free in Hong Kong. Under the Labour Party’s new tax program, if they send their children to private schools in the UK, they must pay an additional 20 percent VAT on top of already high tuition fees. When their children apply to British universities, they are classified as “international students” and charged full tuition fees without access to student loans, making their education prohibitively expensive. Many of these former Hong Kong residents had domestic helpers in Hong Kong and now find themselves doing all the housework, living a significantly inferior quality of life. They have effectively positioned themselves at the bottom of the economic pyramid in Britain as second-class citizens.
As O’Sullivan said, Hong Kong’s tax system is “a good thing” for people traveling from other countries. The Labour Party’s new tax program targeting affluent individuals presents a golden opportunity for the HKSAR government to persuade some wealthy British to come to Hong Kong through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. It would be a fitting response to the UK’s deceitful BN(O) program that has siphoned off our people and resources.
Additionally, the HKSAR government should take the precedent of O’Sullivan to proactively attract UK doctors and nurses to come to work in Hong Kong. Many are dissatisfied with their low salaries and poor work conditions and have even participated in unprecedented labor strikes against the UK government. By relaxing the admission criteria for imported UK medical professionals — who have received similar training to local graduates — Hong Kong could effectively address the current shortage of medical employees. They should be encouraged to join the various talent-wooing programs, which have so far approved over 240,000 individuals worldwide to come to work in Hong Kong.
Those BN(O) holders in the UK should also seriously consider returning to Hong Kong, following the example set by O’Sullivan.
The author is an honorary fellow of HKU Space and Hong Kong Metropolitan University. He is a council member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
