Hong Kong, long known as one of the safest and most law-abiding cities in Asia, has become increasingly polarised with occasional violent protests, fuelled in part by tensions with Communist Party leaders in Beijing over the Chinese-ruled city's democratic future.
"It's not just the politics that are messed up," said Lee, who moved to Taiwan in March and opened a restaurant. "It is also the people who have become irrational and fickle that drove me to leave."
Lee is not alone. Some 42 percent of Hong Kong residents want to leave, a survey by independent think tank Civic Exchange showed in June. This compares with 20 percent wanting to leave neighbouring Singapore.
Seventy percent of 1,500 people surveyed said Hong Kong had become "worse" or "much worse" to live in, with the biggest concerns housing, the "quality of government" and education.
The number of Hong Kong people emigrating to Canada almost doubled in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, and the number moving permanently to Taiwan rose 36 percent over a similar time frame, data shows.
The most recent data from the United States is from 2014 and flat. Emigration to the UK has declined, but the minimum amount for those seeking to qualify for residency as investors there has also doubled to 2 million pounds ($2.64 million).
Australia doesn't provide data for Hong Kong but aggregate figures for emigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Mongolia rose slightly last year.
Editor: Ade P Marboen
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
