A HONG KONGER IN AUSTRALIA|香港主權移交前移民潮 "無奈但正確抉擇"

Hong Kong just celebrated the 20th anniversary of its return to China. 20 years ago, in the run up to the city's handover in 1997, a lot of Hong Kongers feared for their civil liberties and left the city for good. Performance artist Philip Fok was one of them, and with his family, he left for Australia. Although life has sometimes been difficult in his new home, he still feels he made the right decision. 69-year-old Philip Fok is a performance artist born in Hong Kong. In 1992, worried about Hong Kong's prospects after the handover to China, he emigrated to Sydney with his wife and children. ==PHILIP FOK Performance Artist== Freedom. Freedom, to the artist, is very important. We don't care about the democracy. Democracy is nothing. But freedom is most important. Fok said that the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square Massacre under Communist rule made him worry about his creative freedom in Hong Kong once the Chinese took over. These worries compelled him to leave his family and friends and start over in an unfamiliar country. He spoke English poorly when he first arrived in Australia, and lived on welfare for two years. ==PHILIP FOK Performance Artist== I can survive in Australia using art, but not the mime, is the student painting. And if I go back to Hong Kong, I can say, I only drive. You know why? Because in Hong Kong, the people, they don't worry about the creative things, they just worry about the mark. They are square. Nothing. Fok said that emigrating was the right choice. Though they are not rich, his family lives a better life than they would in Hong Kong. They live in a four-room house with a garden in which they can grow vegetables. More importantly, he said, he is more comfortable there. No one cares what he wears or how much money they have. Although no official statistics exist, it is estimated that several hundreds of thousands of people left Hong Kong in the 90s. The exodus peaked in 1992, with 66,200 people emigrating. Most emigrated to Australia, the US, or Canada. Translated by JOHN CHEN 儘管沒有正式統計數字，但估計在90年代，有好幾十萬離開香港。1990年有6萬1千7百人，最高峰在1992年，有6萬6千兩百人。港人選擇移民的國家以澳洲、美國跟加拿大為主。 香港移交給中國之前，出現移民潮。 香港一名表演藝術家霍達昭，也因為擔心創作自由遭剝奪，選擇全家移民澳洲。儘管在異鄉打拚20年很辛苦，但他還是覺得當初做出正確的選擇。 69歲的霍達昭，是香港出生的表演藝術家。1992年時他因為對香港移交給中國後的前景感到擔憂，因此帶著妻小移居澳洲雪梨。 ==表演藝術家 霍達昭== 對藝術家來說自由很重要 我們不關心民主 民主沒那麼重要 但自由最重要 霍達昭認為中國共產黨統治期間，發生過文化大革命，天安門事件，讓他擔憂在中國統治下的香港，可能無法自由創作，這對藝術家來說是很嚴重的事，因此才忍痛離開親朋好友，離鄉背井到陌生國度重頭開始。剛到澳洲時英文不太好，前兩年都是靠救濟金過活。 ==表演藝術家 霍達昭== 我在澳洲可以靠藝術維生 但不是默劇表演而是教兒童繪畫 如果我回去香港大概只能當司機了 因為香港人不關心創作 他們只擔心分數 對默劇沒興趣 霍達昭認為移民是正確的決定，儘管經濟上不夠寬裕，但生活上比香港愉悅，比起地狹人稠的香港，在澳洲住的房子有四個房間還算寬敞，還可以在自家後院種種菜。最重要的是很自在，不會有人在意你穿什麼有多少錢。 儘管沒有正式統計數字，但估計在90年代，有好幾十萬離開香港。1990年有6萬1千7百人，最高峰在1992年，有6萬6千兩百人。港人選擇移民的國家以澳洲、美國跟加拿大為主。記者陳秋玫 報導