Changed Lives In Hong Kong: Why Have They Chosen To Stay? | Year Of Ren Yin | CNA Documentary 

Home is where the heart is. My parents emigrated to Germany in the 1970s. Even growing up in Germany and living there for 30 years, I am still happy to have decided to move back to HK and living here happily for the last 11 years. I don't have anything bad to say about Germany. Life there can be enjoyable. My parents have retired and are still living in Germany. I moved back to HK because I was curious about my parents place of birth and their culture at first. Since coming back to HK, I feel more comfortable living in HK, and I feel more home here than when I was in Germany. Everybody needs to experience for themselves if a move to another place is right choice for them.

This is what a TV channel should be, and what a TV channel should produce! Thank you CNA, happy to see you can make something that outstanding

Deeply moved by the documentary. Someone choose to leave and someone choose to stay, but one's roots and birthplace are an indelible part of their identity, and can never be forgotten

Wow. This has to be one of the most well directed documentary done by CNA. I don't say that often, not even to most of the movies. This 46 mins video has blown my mind with it's pacing cinematography, and most importantly, storytelling.

I'm deeply moved by their love for their home country. Another exceptional documentary. Well done!

Just like their earlier piece "One Way Ticket Out of HK", Ms Wei Du and the CNA Insider team have produced another excellent video that made me feel for the persons in it. I wish Mr Lai the best of health following his eye surgery and Mr Chan the freedom and space to pursue his passion. May Endo-san have a never-ending stream of creative ideas to hone his craft. And may Ms Liu find the happiness and contentment in her career success and hopefully a partner who loves cats ;-)

Beautifully shot, and very touching. Respect, CNA!

Thank you CNA for the coverage. A perfect atmosphere throughout the film to encapsulate how life has been for Hong Kong citizens in the past 4 years.

Awesome work! Thank you.

Superb documentary , Thank You CNA

very good coverage thank you

what a recap of this sad year. Thanks CNA.

Thank you, CNA. An absolute masterpiece.

Thank you CNA

香港人加油💪🏻

Thank you for publishing this valuable documentary

Thanks for recording HK, our home

this documentary managed to capture the exact kaleidoscope of tumultuous emotions that has created the seismic shift in HK these past few years. kudos producers and editors that closing line from ronson: it's not rational... so simple, yet so utterly piercing; truly mirrors what many singaporeans feel about our own country - we have an irrational love for what Singapore used to stand for, and feel a deep sense of loss and nostalgia for it, unable to not want to hope and bear witness to how it can evolve for the better.

Many have chosen to stay because their roots are here. Similar to many who may be experiencing the harshest state of being, they still will not leave their motherland.

Another great documentary on Hong Kong. Thank you, and stay _safe_!

i deeply regret not visiting HK pre-pandemic. Thanks CNA. Another outstanding documentary.

Good production. Sharp editing esp when the bus scenery at Oxford melts into HKG. It really speaks of how their hearts are still in HKG. Stay strong HKG!

Thank you 🙇‍♂️

Thank you for this excellent documentary! Every aspect is nicely done. What a contrast to what has happened to HK. Sad!

Majority stayed because the grass is not greener on the other side. HK might not be perfect, but no place is. lack of press freedom is a shame, but i still wouldn't swap hk for uk or canada. hk is still a great place for me.

Really good～

thank you from hongkong, as a konger, i cannot express how touched i am after watching this. for obvious reason, the work outside hongkong will become more valuable than ever.

Thank you for the report.

Excellent documentary that clearly painted the gloomy life in the once vibrant Asian city, now overshadowed by oppressive government. I lived the best years there, and I'm glad that I left before this darkness. There's no happiness in this city anymore. Free Hong Kong!!!

Well done

I have lived in this city for over a decade and I am losing sight of her. What the funny thing is, a few days ago, in the official "Hello, Hong Kong" advertise, the bright colours of the images did not give me any hope. But that was the same day that I watched year of renyin. I saw hope in the whole depressingly colourful documentary and realised what it is that some people really like about this place. But this hope was followed by despair, as if the desert was connected to the sea and the sea was connected to the desert again😢

Thank you for the report. I like CNA, because it is pretty objective.

my mood is echoed by the end music very melancholy,such a tough time to be a Hong Kong citizen

This documentary was produced very nicely with capturing a snipet of these people's lives.

CNA, well done 👍👍

Good editing. Keep it up

The rain in 1997 was an omen. Gosh, life is tough.

Lovely people, all of them shown. I wish them health and happiness

Well done, another well-produced documentary since the "One Way". Thank You.

Thank you so much for making this authentic documentary! I feel really moved to watch it as my family and I have moved to other country from HK few months ago! Gratefully, we’ve settled down in the brand new country but we still miss our hometown from the bottom of our hearts obviously! Nobody wants to leave their homelands frankly! Anyways, truly hope every Hongkongers will be happy and healthy no matter where they live! 🍀🍀🍀 Also, hope everything goes well with the Hongkongers especially those who will move to the other countries!🍀🍀🍀

Thank you CNA insider once again. 2023 maybe is another difficult year for Hongkongers, Bless all

Truly heartbreaking!! Especially when you have loved ones and friends that lives in Hong Kong.

Thanks for telling the story of HongKongers :) Thanks to CNA Insider

香港人 加油

More documentaries about Hong Kongers who are living abroad now please

This video so well edited!

昇哥😢

Glad to see a peaceful Hong Kong without riots and violence

"I can't have cats. I am very allergic." End of story.

He has model of Comfort yellow cab inside his taxi !!!

Thank CNA to report Hong Kong. Wish you success again.

Those criticise SG without freedom of expression should change their mind after viewing this unbiased documentary. Freedom of expression with truth, not rumour. Well done SG for making many similar doc. that interview both sides of the events.

Thank you 🙏🏻 香港人加油 香港已經沒有新聞自由，也沒有新聞機構會報導真實的香港。 多謝CNA團隊

The background of the 3 are not typical, one is Japanese Expat, one is a anti China journalist, another one is a migrant from the mainland China.

Great documentary but l do have a little objection when Ronson Chan who was in Oxford, mocked UK citizens for being so libtard (the subtitles said left wing but it actually is libtard as in liberal retard) that their main concern is climate change, because there is no life or death issue affecting them. As a journalist himself, what he said was rather short-sighted and also slightly entitled. So what if UK citizens are putting climate change as priority rather than the ever increasing erosion of human rights and press freedom in HK? There are so many issues affecting UK people right now: inflation, cost of living crisis, astronomical increase of expenditure, food banks, recession, job losses that perhaps the issues faced by HK people isn’t on top of the list in UK folks mind. At least HK people can come to UK on BNO route and have a fresh start. Spare a thought on those who are a lot less fortunate such as Syrians, or the Ukrainians who are being bombed left and right currently.

Hi CNA, can you film a documentary on Singapore human rights?

Very good documentary for us! Hope more hongkonger and people around the world could see it.

26:00 笑容逐渐消失，突然下起了雨

Really sad for HK to lose its uniqueness and genuine beauty. It became another dull and souless city of PRC.

People who choose to leave Hong Kong do not do so only for political reasons. Even without the politics, HK is suffocating as a to live in - small space, congested, society values, education system etc etc. Not everything is about politics - and do not fully trust what the media tries to tell you.

I’m from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is my place. Here is relatively less crime than the European countries. Salaries are high. My children have good jobs. My home is comfortable. The management is good. We have a maid for 30+ years. She is almost a family member. We are not rich. But we have enough. Best wishes to Hong Kong people!

Having lived in HK now for 31 years what's particularly striking/ depressing to me is that Singapore is now the liberal place relatively speaking. Back when I first came to HK we had a completely free press that could openly question anything the gov did. And we used to laugh at draconian Singapore where even cartoonists had to be careful. Now it's the complete opposite and it's OUR cartoonists that need to be careful as our unelected policeman CE John Lee constantly warns them. Our free press has been systematically dismantled with RTHK gutted ( it's now Chinese state media owned ) and a new gov stooge put in place to run it with zero prior experience in media. Which is no problem of course if your job is just to self censor and make sure nothing that questions the government is ever put out. Could RTHK in 2023 have made this fantastic documentary that CNA just made? 100 percent no chance. Absolutely not. Frankly it would likely be deemed "seditious". A brilliant independent HK documentary maker that made a film that won a hatfull of international awards had their film banned by HK censors because it featured a single protest scene. And the protest in question wasn't even in Hong Kong it was in Taiwan AND it was actually a protest against the current Taiwanese gov but that was STILL deemed too sensitive by HK censors who fear any scenes of protest against authority. Another documentary got banned because of one scene where someone had a yellow umberella. That's the level HK has currently descended to. Now we look like North Korea compared to Singapore. So I congratulate CNA for making something thought provoking and valuable, something we can no longer do in our new police state.

well, not a single protest, especially violent protest ever happened in Singapore... only one party had their grip in Singapore... great democracy there...

The other side of the lawn is always greener.

Never will I believed that Hong Kong is any less democratic than Singapore. Millions of Hong Kong residents are permitted to demonstrate in public throughout the year, which is a stark contrast to Singapore one-man protest no allowed, speaks volume which country is more tolerance towards their own citizens. In this regard, Hongkongers impulsive exodus to UK might not necessarily be the right move. The moon is not always brighter in the west. 10 to 20 years later, Hong Kong may ended up becoming a new shinning star for many returning investors.

Tell more details about the background of each individual.

after the rain there will be sunshine

Let's pray for the journalists, nurses, and social workers in Hong Kong.

😀👍

😢

life flow

No place can be prosperous forever and no place stays poor forever either. This is the way of life.

Leaving HK if you are 50s and go to somewhere else is not a wise move, unless you are well established and rich. No country would let you work 10 years, and retire getting their benefits. You may as well stay in HK and would get your benefits even though is little. Peace.

How come insurance agents in HK and Singapore can earn so much??? Are people over-insured??

HK is a precious pearl whose gloss has been sanded away by the Party.

The mainlander (Suki Liu) is the "contrast case" for typical local Hongkongers.

Chasing democracy may lead you to jail, but chasing celebrities won't. Haha!

I miss my homeland

Excuse me, but what the taxi driver is heading to after ditching the drivers job?

Hongkongers can stay or leave anytime, so total freedom in this respect !! By the way, what happened to this guy who went to Oxford? Did he have a good time there?

There are high inflation problems in the US and most of the European countries , due to the Ukraine War . 20% of the people in UK will become poor in 2023 due to high inflation , and many need help from the Food Bank . Make sure you have enough money before migrate to US or UK .

If the daily was reporting fairly and truthfully,they will not get into trouble.

I am seeing this now end of 2023 and it is still bad getting worse into 2024. Ren yin forever lol 😆

I'm currently staying shenzhen and went to Hong Kong last week (similar like Malaysia - Singapore custom). Things have changed after 3 years. There's a big contrast in terms of culture, people and almost every aspect in working environment between Mainland China and Hong Kong. People stay put in HK for different reasons, there's a hidden voice in every person that wants to speak out loud desperately however due to the fact of the environment (part of China). It's extremely tough and now i understand them more about Hong Kong citizens. They are really grit-and-grind people and deserve a lot better

so sad HK becomes like now . Singapore is laughing , so sad

The environmental issues are utmost importance nowadays !!!

Good work CNA! You've made your best effort to cover different groups of people in the society, maintaining a sound balance of views and perspectives. Also I'd like to bring everyone's attention to this fine piece of detail at 45:42 - "January 2023, China reopens its borders. Hong Kong doesn’t regain access to the mainland before (the rest of) the world." This marks a good summary on the dilemma of Hong Kong in post-National Security Law era: the SAR government tried to please Beijing by turning the city into a #policestate, putting protesters and journalists into jail, and strictly following zero-COVID rules. However the pro-China guys simply can't buy back their trust from Beijing even licking its arse.

農曆中之壬寅年，天干壬，水也，地支寅，虎也。 港人遇虎，大事勿用，凡虎皆噬人，有待武松出現，伏虎後而復民生，太平乃重現!

wish that malaysians who were raised in UK have this opportunity,

ppl like suki liu who can resist just bending over backwards for whatever their older relatives want r so impressive to me bc i could absolutely be guilted into marriage like that lol

禮失求諸野！竟要星洲報道分析香港事！香港的言論空間去了那裏？

What a great documentary. I won't fault anyone for staying. However, I won't make that choice to live under authoritarian dictatorship. That's just me.

They are wasting their time remaining in HK. England need a lot of taxi drivers.

For some people they consider 1842 was a great year cos Hong Kong People can be part of British empire so just depends on the sides and perspectives.

Hi CNA Insider, closer to your home, how about doing an objective 😊 analysis piece on Keppel OM bribery saga or SPH fudging of circulation numbers? Looking forward to your precious insights! 😀

Is sad to see what CCP has done to HK. Is the end of HK and in time the CCP will remove the name of Hong Kong. I'm glad all my friends and family have left HK for good.

A taste of Operation Coldstore, ah, the good ol days.

Thank you for using Hong Kong people as the subject again!

Hell is where everyone live in poor conditions, and instead of helping each other, they want to drag more people who can leave back to this hell. Those who hold power have succeeded to divide Chinese people against one another.

Hong Kong is still a good place to earn money if you don't try to find the fairness and justice, don't try to confront the government even they did something wrong.