China Herald: Chinese emigration "a hot potato"

Rupert Hoogewerf

Rich Chinese are massively leaving China, obvious politically "a hot potato", tells China's rich list founder Rupert Hoogewerf in The Telegraph. Although the effect might not be as devastating as the figures suggest.

The Telegraph:

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun's founder, said the findings were "a supersensitive topic at a political level" because of the implication that China's well-connected elites might not have faith in the country's political and economic future.

"I think it is a very significant political hot potato," he said, listing education, pollution and food safety as some of the explanations behind the trend.

But Hoogewerf urged caution, pointing out that many of those "emigrating" were simply seeking permanent residence overseas rather than ditching their Chinese passports altogether. "If the capital goes with them you are potentially at risk of losing 50 per cent of the country's capital. But in practice it's not really going to be like that. Most of the entrepreneurs I know are not going to be giving up on China. They grew up in China, they are proud of it and are not turning their backs on their country at this stage."

Many were simply seeking "diversification of risk" in the "unlikely event there might be economic or political change," he added. "If you were a British businessman you wouldn't put all your eggs in the Sterling basket."

More in The Telegraph.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau.

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How would your life in China look like without VPN? That question a lot of people are asking themselves as the internet filter systems gained the ability to shut down their VPN's and China's media kindly point out foreign VPN's are illegal in China anyway. The China Weekly Hangout will focus on Thursday 20 December on this issue. Read the full announcement here, or register directly here.

In September the China Weekly Hangout discussed the issue of Chinese leaving China. Present were Isaac Mao, Li Meixian, Richard Brubaker and Fons Tuinstra.