More HK people find nat´l identity as contact with mainland increases

WATCH VIDEO

Prof. Timothy Ka-Ying Wong, Asia-PAC. Studies, Chinese University of HK, said, "I believe that the identification of China will be further strengthened, because China is rising...dualistic identity will linger for a while...as a whole."

The confidence of the Hong Kong people in China's future can also be seen in the large number of returnees from abroad.

Official figures from Hong Kong Customs show that more than 300,000 people moved to the US, Australia and Canada between 1990 and 1997. Ten years later, over 20 percent of the immigrants have returned. Some even headed north.

Edwin, aged 45, is a Hong Kong partner in an accounting firm in Beijing. After 12 years in Canada, he and his family re-settled in the Chinese capital. Edwin says it's not just because his expertise in taxation gives him an edge in the Mainland. He wants to gain a deeper understanding of his country.