Migrants and Democratization: The Political Economy of Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this article, we argue that immigrants can serve as staunch support of the conservative incumbents of a regime, due to a self-selection effect; immigrants are more likely to accept the political status quo and be less sympathetic to the opposition who might demand progressive changes. Based on Asian Barometer survey data in Hong Kong, we showed that Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong are more pro-establishment and supportive of pro-government parties. With China’s huge population, this implies a strategic importance of Chinese migrants, whose inflow to other Asian states can significantly skew the politics of neighbouring states in destined directions.

Keywords

• Hong Kong politics
• Chinese immigrants
• internal migration
• democratization