Most elderly people in Hong Kong live in loneliness and depression after their children have migrated to other countries in recent years, says a survey conducted by a Christian group.
A high percentage of people above the age of 50 are at “high risk of social isolation and worsening physical and mental health” after their children who cared for them left Hong Kong, said the survey findings.
The Hong Kong Christian Services, which conducted the study, published its report during a press conference on April 13.
The study surveyed 203 non-institutionalized Hong Kong residents aged 50 and above from November 2022 to February 2023.
Hundreds of thousands of young people began to move out as China imposed a sweeping new national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020, primarily aiming to suppress the growing protests that sought democratic autonomy for the city.