Ireland Top Contender For New Hong Kong Settlement for Millions of Hong Kongers

Flimsy_Boat

This was just published in the Independent: https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/property-tycoon-eyes-ireland-as-new-base-for-millions-of-hong-kong-citizens-39308660.html

Where will this new city be built? Donegal? Certainly not Dublin. The Hong Kong penchant for high rises would never see the light of day in Dublin.

This is an interesting proposal, but I see it as doomed to fail. No small country would take kindly to millions of foreign citizens setting up shop on their land.

That said, I have lived in Hong Kong and had a brilliant time. I feel so bad for the Hong Kongers. Their culture and values are far more compatible with a capitalist, Western country than they are with the communist regime of mainland China.

TheValeyard

Yeah, that aint happening.

Fred Cryton

If it happens, it will be UK. Brexit and all that will allow them to get around EU tax and state aid law. Boris always banging on about "freeports".

It would be great though and whoever gets it will be a very lucky country. You will not meet a more industrious and law abiding people.

buried

Hong Cong

Rodney Bathgate

The UK has already spoken about a possible path to UK citizenship for people who want to leave Honk Kong...

jmreire

After Angela's million ( only one million,mind ) and how that is working out, the thoughts of "Million's" will send shudders down everyone's spine. But when payback time comes for the Covid-19 billions + impending recession, who can say what might happen???? Incredible though it may seem......

snotboogie

Here is the link that the Telegraph article was based on:

Chartering a Future for Hong Kong

Our goal is to develop multiple ICCs in multiple countries. The population of each ICC will be 50 percent Hong Kongers and 50 percent host residents. Hong Kong has already accomplished two economic miracles. First, it transformed from a fishing village into a manufacturing center. Over the last 30 years, it became one of the world’s financial capitals. It’s time for a third miracle: helping the people of Hong Kong build a new city, where they can live in freedom and democracy and thrive economically.

We’re looking at free and democratic countries interested in tapping into the talent and drive of the Hong Kong people. We are currently in discussions with Ireland and two other countries (not yet public). We’re open to exploring others, and given the uncertainty of the project, we want to have conversations with as many countries as possible. Key factors in determining which countries to choose are those that would offer visa waivers for Hong Kongers, provide political support to ease integration, and grant access to sufficient land to build. And we prefer English-speaking, common-law nations.

We formed last October. We thought we had more time. Recent events have taken us by surprise, so we’ve been accelerating our timeline. We have been in discussion with Ireland since last October. In the two other countries, discussions are in early stages.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be incorporating, as well as raising initial funding to pay salaries, legal expenses, and travel. We’re doing a media push, launching our website in the hopes that increased attention will lead to greater government access and financial support. Our goal is to reach agreement on one or more sites over the next 12 months and begin fundraising for Phase 1 buildout of the city. Within 18 months, we would like to have dirt moving and temporary housing set up for the first migrants.

Also lol at the independents picture of Beijing when describing the new Hong Kong!

suicide_circus

anyone escaping the Chinese Communist Party is in need of help. we cant take them all, not even close, but some certainly.

ScallionAyter

It says he's "talking to Ireland" - he probably means a farmer in Tipperary with a quare eye for a deal.

https://www.city-journal.org/future-of-hong-kong

Harry Palmr

A dose of Hong Kong would be great but for the fact "red China" would then spend a lot of time attacking the states tech infrastructure.

Why would we take them? The UK created the problem (shocking I know) so let them deal with it.

Harry Palmr

If you view Hong Kong people as a problem you are a fool.

dwayneshintzy

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

The UK has already spoken about a possible path to UK citizenship for people who want to leave Honk Kong...

A very vague, potentially lengthy path to citizenship is all they've talked about so far.

dwayneshintzy

Also, there's been talk of something similar in British newspapers. It's quite fanciful and ridiculous......many Hong Kongers want to leave, definitely. But the idea that millions of them will leave en masse, and that an entire city can be built for them in a foreign country, is ludicrous.

ScallionAyter

It'd make sense for them to move to Oz. Loads of land and close to Asian markets.

John Doe1

They could put it beside the chinatown area of Craggy Island

MrMusician18

This idea was actually mooted before for Northern Ireland, around the time the UK was negotiating the hand back of HK to China in the 80's.

The Brits decided against it in the end, thinking that introducing thousands of Han Chinese into the then NI social tinderbox a bad idea.

theguzman

I'd welcome Hong Kong refugees anyday over some of our own home-grown rocket scientists and the scroungers who skipped several safe havens to travel here for Social Welfare benefits. One look a certain towns and you can see that some immigrants assimilate very well and others are hell bent on trying to transform this country into the crime ridden dumps they left behind.

I'd favour an Australian style rural visa, want to come here and live then ok but you must live and work in places like Donegal, Leitrim, South Kerry etc, sorry but the Pale is full folks.

joseywhales

We will take every doctor, portfolio manager and engineer they can send.

Fred Cryton

Once they get word of our high marginal income tax rates, they will almost certainly opt for elsewhere. Unless they can somehow get a special deal off the Irish State but can you imagine the uproar if that happened.

jimgoose

Hmm. It could be that someone has finally found a use for Buttevant. :pac:

JPCN1

ScallionAyter wrote: »

It says he's "talking to Ireland" - he probably means a farmer in Tipperary with a quare eye for a deal.

https://www.city-journal.org/future-of-hong-kong

Beside the casino and new Airport in Two-Mile Borris?

Celtic Tiger on speed stuff.

SEPT 23 1989

Are they entitled to British Passports?

JPCN1

theguzman wrote: »

I'd welcome Hong Kong refugees anyday over some of our own home-grown rocket scientists and the scroungers who skipped several safe havens to travel here for Social Welfare benefits. One look a certain towns and you can see that some immigrants assimilate very well and others are hell bent on trying to transform this country into the crime ridden dumps they left behind.

I'd favour an Australian style rural visa, want to come here and live then ok but you must live and work in places like Donegal, Leitrim, South Kerry etc, sorry but the Pale is full folks.

There's bugger all work in those places and just enough to keep the locals in labour. Most of their kids have to leave to find work.

loyatemu

MrMusician18 wrote: »

This idea was actually mooted before for Northern Ireland, around the time the UK was negotiating the hand back of HK to China in the 80's.

The Brits decided against it in the end, thinking that introducing thousands of Han Chinese into the then NI social tinderbox a bad idea.

this reminds of the Onion's proposal to move the inhabitants of all disputed territories to the West Bank:

IAmTheReign

Fred Cryton wrote: »

If it happens, it will be UK. Brexit and all that will allow them to get around EU tax and state aid law. Boris always banging on about "freeports".

It would be great though and whoever gets it will be a very lucky country. You will not meet a more industrious and law abiding people.

As fanciful as the idea is there's no reason to think EU state aid or tax laws would be the reason this couldn't happen. Plenty of EU member states already contain what the EU consider special territories that have varying degrees of alignment with EU laws, the Faroe Islands, the Canaries, Madeira, all the French overseas territories etc. HK itself used to be a special territory until the UK handed it back to China. If the EU saw a benefit to this happening they wouldn't stop it.

LiquidZeb

Harry Palmr wrote: »

If you view Hong Kong people as a problem you are a fool.

Well a lot of lads here judge good people and bad people on a Dulux colour chart basis. Anyone slightly darker than pure brilliant white is to be viewed with suspicion as one of the bad 'uns.

KevRossi

Very industrious, courteous people. Hard workers, good business people. Only downside is price of land and houses to got up and the few Triad gangs that they have, but they tend to keep their business amongst themselves; you rarely hear of the Triads in Dublin, even thought they have a long standing presence here.

jimgoose

KevRossi wrote: »

Very industrious, courteous people. Hard workers, good business people. Only downside is price of land and houses to got up and the few Triad gangs that they have, but they tend to keep their business amongst themselves; you rarely hear of the Triads in Dublin, even thought they have a long standing presence here.

By Jaysis they were heard of in 1979. Tony Lee's mother lives near me:

https://comeheretome.com/2012/08/29/triad-violence-in-dublin-july-1979/

cgcsb

I wonder do journalists just follow these 'tycoons' around while they get through numerous bags of cocaine and wait for them to utter some ****e they can get an A4 page out of?

cgcsb

MrMusician18 wrote: »

This idea was actually mooted before for Northern Ireland, around the time the UK was negotiating the hand back of HK to China in the 80's.

The Brits decided against it in the end, thinking that introducing thousands of Han Chinese into the then NI social tinderbox a bad idea.

Because, the idea was otherwise quite practical. :eek:

LawBoy2018

What an interesting proposition! What are the chances of it coming to fruition?

https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/property-tycoon-eyes-ireland-as-new-base-for-millions-of-hong-kong-citizens-39308660.html

Eric Cartman

ohh please, please do it. Even if they put it in rural leitrim id move there to pay HK tax rates. It would be an oasis in the midst of Ireland full of professionals and devoid of welfare scroungers.

LawBoy2018

Eric Cartman wrote: »

ohh please, please do it. Even if they put it in rural leitrim id move there to pay HK tax rates

Do you think they'd be offered sovereignty re tax? I'd love to learn more about the nitty-gritty tax issues. I'd presume they'd be forced to use the euro?

CrankyHaus

LawBoy2018 wrote: »

What an interesting proposition! What are the chances of it coming to fruition?

https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/property-tycoon-eyes-ireland-as-new-base-for-millions-of-hong-kong-citizens-39308660.html

Zero. Take it about as seriously as the British Government "considering" to resettle 5.5 M Hong Kongers in Northern Ireland in the 1980s.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/uk-officials-discussed-resettling-55m-hong-kong-chinese-in-northern-ireland

Eric Cartman

LawBoy2018 wrote: »

Do you think they'd be offered sovereignty re tax? I'd love to learn more about the nitty-gritty tax issues. I'd presume they'd be forced to use the euro?

probably would. Im sure there is a way to have tax independence from the rest of the state. 8.25% corporation tax on your first 2 million , 17% income tax cap. Its the dream.

Ireland could use a new tax utopia, regenerate rural Ireland , put a rolls Royce dealership in Roscommon, allow mega mansions to be built, be like Dubai on the Atlantic.

na1

LawBoy2018 wrote: »

Do you think they'd be offered sovereignty re tax? I'd love to learn more about the nitty-gritty tax issues. I'd presume they'd be forced to use the euro?

There are very few chances that this happens, even with low taxes.
and absolutely no way they will be attracted otherwise.

As I already mentioned our company was looking for IT professionals on a very high pay rates, and we couldn't attract any good professionals from abroad. The taxes are high, and the service you get for these money (transport & accommodation) is poor.
Ireland is only attractive for a low skilled workers.

Dr Turk Turkelton

CrankyHaus wrote: »

Zero. Take it about as seriously as the British Government "considering" to resettle 5.5 M Hong Kongers in Northern Ireland in the 1980s.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/uk-officials-discussed-resettling-55m-hong-kong-chinese-in-northern-ireland

The article doesn't mention if they were Catholic or Protestant Hong Kongers.

Beasty

Threads merged

wassie

LiquidZeb wrote: »

Well a lot of lads here judge good people and bad people on a Dulux colour chart basis. Anyone slightly darker than pure brilliant white is to be viewed with suspicion as one of the bad 'uns.

Ha so true. Imagine the outrage it would generate given the drama we have putting a few peeps up in direct provision.