Hong Kong migrants revel in Cantopop concerts, films from home as tears flow, emotions high in ‘collective healing’ at venues in Canada, UK

The band had pitched the tour as a “reunion” for overseas Hongkongers, with dates across the UK, Europe and North America, where Hong Kong emigrants have headed in recent years.

“We knew we had many fans overseas who wanted to watch us perform,” RubberBand frontman Mau Hou-cheong told the Post. “As Australia and New Zealand are also hotspots for Hongkongers, we hope to perform there in the future, too.”

His most distinct memory from the tour was of walking into the crowd and seeing the emotion in fans’ eyes as they reached out to him.

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During some songs, he said, he was so overwhelmed by the audience reaction that he choked up and could not carry on signing.

“I could tell how important these performances were to them,” he said. “It was like I could feel their pain and the difficulties they faced.”

RubberBand are not the only Hong Kong entertainers going abroad. So far this year, ToNick, Cath Wong In and Hins Cheung King-hin have all also performed in the UK.

In October, Cantopop superstar Terence Lam Ka-him is scheduled to perform at London’s 20,000-capacity O2 arena, which has previously hosted megastars Rihanna and Elton John.

Hong Kong films, too, have seen a surge in interest over the past three years, with distribution companies and film festivals emerging in the UK, North America and Australia.

Companies like UK-based Haven Productions, established in 2021, have brought over not only politically charged documentaries like “Blue Island” – in which scenes from the 2019 social unrest are interweaved with re-enactments of past events – but also mainstream films such as last year’s comedy-drama “Table for Six”.

“The recent rise in this phenomenon … reveals the growth of an overseas [audience] and the demand for cultural experiences connecting to Hong Kong,” said Helena Wu, the Canada Research Chair and assistant professor of Hong Kong Studies at the University of British Columbia.

The recent surge also corresponded with Hong Kong’s largest emigration wave since the return to Chinese rule in 1997.

Following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020, Britain, Canada and Australia offered bespoke immigration pathways for Hongkongers wishing to leave.

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Between January 2021 and March this year, about 166,420 Hong Kong residents were approved for British National (Overseas) visas to settle in the United Kingdom.

The Post earlier reported that Canada had issued more than 22,596 open work permits for Hongkongers between 2021 and this past April, on top of an added 3,169 who were granted permanent residency under various work and study schemes.

The rise in Hongkongers overseas has been reflected in the response to Hong Kong films overseas.

Last November, “Table for Six” became the top performing foreign language film in the UK during its opening weekend, raking in more than US$84,000 according to data from Box Office Mojo.

Crime drama “The Sparring Partner” pulled US$54,938 in its opening weekend in the UK and US$41,231 in Australia last year.

“Recent local films have had relatively good results, so the [distributors] are more willing or finding it easier to ‘sell’ them in other countries,” said Tenky Tin Kai-man, former chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers.

“It is delightful to see more local films being screened overseas as it means the market can be wider.”

He added that it also meant more opportunities for new and emerging Hong Kong filmmakers to gain exposure.

Some said the trend also opened new avenues for politically sensitive works or artists which may not be allowed in Hong Kong.

Cantopop singer-songwriter Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, one of a few artists to voice support for demonstrators during the 2019 protests, complained in recent years that he faced difficulty booking venues for his performances.

In May, he said the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre withdrew permission for a performance without giving a reason. The same month, he was bouncing across Europe on his “Songs of Wanderers” tour.

Hong Kong authorities were non-committal about whether downloading or watching Kiwi Chow Kwun-wai’s “Revolution of our Times” documentary on the 2019 movement violated the national security law, and it had no public screening in the city.

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Meanwhile, it was winning awards and being shown to sold-out audiences in places like Canada.

“What can’t be released in Hong Kong now has an opportunity to be released abroad,” Chow told the Post.

But not all are convinced the emerging market of overseas Hongkongers added up to new growth opportunities for the local entertainment industry.

Vera Yuen Wing-han, a political economy lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, noted that the overseas Hongkongers were scattered across multiple cities and countries.

“The base is actually rather limited,” she said. “Basically it’s not really an expansion of demand, but rather shifting of some demand that has migrated.”

She said many performers had opted for smaller venues and less elaborate shows when abroad to reduce costs.

Last year, independent hip-hop star Tyson Yoshi played to a sold-out crowd at The Crossing in Birmingham as part of a three-show tour which included stops in London and Manchester.

The venue could take 970 according to its website, less than a third of the estimated 3,600 who packed Hong Kong’s Star Hall four nights in a row during his sold out My New World Order tour last year.

Urban planner Jacky Leung, 40, said he had seen more than 10 films and six live performances by Hong Kong artists since moving to London in 2021.

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While he was “surprised and grateful” for so many opportunities, he noticed that most of the people in the audience were Hongkongers, with hardly any locals.

He said British audiences seemed drawn more to screenings of political documentaries such as “Revolution of our Times” or “Blue Island” and his British friends were not keen to watch Hong Kong mainstream films.

“Even those with annual passes for cinemas will not use them for these Hong Kong mainstream films,” he said.

According to the artists themselves, financial success mattered little in their decision to take their works abroad.

Filmmaker Chow recalled emotional scenes during the recent overseas tour of his latest film, “Say I Do To Me.” He said some members of the audience were in tears when they came up to hug him.

“The significance is greater than the economic benefits,” he said. “It’s about giving overseas Hongkongers a place to come together and watch these movies. Many have experienced trauma, and films can help to release these emotions.”

A 2022 survey of newly arrived immigrants to the UK conducted by advocacy group Hongkongers in Britain found that nearly half the respondents had depression or anxiety, with a quarter showing signs of post -traumatic stress disorder related to the 2019 protests and imposition of the national security law.

Another more recent survey by the University of Liverpool found that only a third of recent immigrants had secured full-time jobs despite their high education levels.

Hongkonger Leung said the arrivals faced pressure to integrate into British society, on top of the added challenges brought about by soaring inflation and the rising cost of living.

“A lot of people are finding it challenging to live here,” he said.

Eva Li Cheuk-yin, an assistant professor in Media and Cultural Studies at Lancaster University, said as the recent wave of Hong Kong migrants grew, these kinds of film screenings and performances could provide a sense of community.

“These cultural events indeed provide a means of collective healing from the traumatic experiences of 2019 while also [creating] psychological and physical connections with other Hongkongers,” she said.

“In this sense, these events keep the Hong Kong communities overseas growing and thriving.”