---- Title: Thousands of people are leaving Hong Kong — and now it’s clear where they’re going ---- ... Hong Kong lost 93,000 residents in 2020, followed by another 23,000 in 2021. But early estimates show this year will see far more people go. Many people and companies are moving to Singapore, though some expatriates are returning home and Hong Kongers are applying for residency under new visa programs launched in Canada and the United Kingdom. There’s also an increase in moves from Hong Kong to Dubai, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, according to insiders. ---- Image Caption: Hong Kong lost residents in 2020 and 2021, but this year is expected to far surpass both years in terms of the numbers of people leaving for good. ---- ... They stuck it out during the political protests of 2019. Then they lasted through nearly two years of pandemic. But this year, they say they’ve had enough. Residents of Hong Kong are leaving the city in droves in 2022 — not because they want to, several told CNBC, but because Covid restrictions and what they see as an erosion of democratic norms are pushing them to leave. A surge in departures is accelerating a “brain drain” of professional talent — a situation which hit fever pitch around March, as omicron-driven Covid cases skyrocketed across the city. Now Hong Kong’s ever-chipper lifestyle websites, once dominated by articles about the city’s best dim sum and foot massages parlors, are focusing on moving to-do lists and farewell gift guides. ‘Absolute mass exodus’ The office of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Lam said on April 26 that the government’s Covid rules balance health and economic interests with public tolerance levels.