Proposed motivations for migration and migration intention
Mobility
Migration has been widely studied in regard to its relationship with mobility and as a form of mobility (Bui & Wilkins, 2016; Gustafson, 2009; Lassen, 2006; Nagatomo, 2009). Mobility can take multiple forms, such as residential mobility, transnational mobility, and travel mobility. In particular, mobility in terms of international and outbound travel has been suggested to influence individuals’ intention to migrate (Gustafson, 2009). International or cross-border mobility is said to cause changes in one’s attitudes, orientations, and identities, as people may acquire different experiences, knowledge, and social interactions through traveling (Gustafson, 2009; Lassen, 2006; Mazzoni et al., 2018). These experiences and changes, in turn, may motivate people to pursue an alternative lifestyle and improved quality of life in another place, and thus trigger the intention of people to migrate (Bui & Wilkins, 2016). For example, Bui and Wilkins (2016) studied the migration pattern of young people in Japan and showed that repeated travel to a destination could motivate people’s intention to migrate. Nagatomo (2009) also suggested that Japanese individuals who experienced Australian lifestyles and culture during their trips could eventually be motivated to migrate to Australia as a result of their travel experience.
At the same time, cross-border mobility nowadays has become a diverse activity that people undertake for various purposes, including relaxation, vacations, business, employment, and studying (Frändberg, 2014; Nagatomo, 2009; Ono, 2009). Experiences from traveling for various purposes may influence people’s intention to migrate in different ways. Frändberg (2014) described how people with different purposes and experiences in regard to travel, in terms of employment, studying, and business, vary in their mobility and, subsequently, their chances of repeated travel and staying abroad. A recent study on the migration motives of Hong Kong residents to Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities showed that socio-political factors, such as individuals’ attitudes toward GBA cities and their prior mobility to and experiences with the region, could effectively predict their migration intention (Zhu et al, 2021).
Sense of place
Sense of place, also known as place attachment, describes the connection of people to a place which they experience and perceive to be meaningful (Jorgensen & Stedman, 2001; Kyle et al., 2005). Scholars have commonly conceptualized the attachment of people to a place as consisting of a few dimensions, including place identity, which describes individuals’ expression and affirmation related to identity; place affect, which reflects the emotional connection between a place and individuals; place dependence, which represents the functional attachment of individuals to a place; and place social bonding, which denotes individuals’ social bonding and social interactions with other individuals derived from a specific place (Jorgensen & Stedman, 2001; Kyle et al., 2005; Ramkissoon et al., 2013). In many cases, people with a stronger sense of place are less inspired to find a different place and way of living, and have lower incentives to migrate, as they find significant meaning or utility in their current place of residence (Petrović et al., 2017; Simms, 2017; Theodori & Theodori, 2014). Petrović et al. (2017) concluded in their research on citizens in eight cities in Serbia that people with lower levels of place attachment displayed a higher inclination to migrate.
While the positive association between sense of place and migration intention would hold in most cases, the four dimensions of sense of place may promote migration differently. Adams and Adger (2013) studied how benefits provided by the social environment of a place may determine people’s attachment to that place and, subsequently, their intention to migrate. The authors showed that less of a sense of place in terms of utility and commitment (similar to place dependence and place affect) would lead to a greater incentive to migrate. Similarly, Simms (2017) demonstrated in interviews with residents of Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana, USA, that people in the area showed a strong will to remain in their homeland, as they were highly attached to their place of residence in terms of their local culture and sense of identity. Theodori and Theodori (2014) also indicated that young people with strong attachments to their community, friends, and family generally show a higher tendency to stay than to migrate. On the other hand, in certain cases, a strong sense of place may not deter migration, due to other even stronger migration incentives. For instance, Eacott and Sonn (2006) found that rural Australians who perceive a sense of attachment to their community would still be motivated to migrate to urban areas to look for better work and education opportunities.
Inequality
Inequality is one of the most frequently discussed determinants of migration in the existing literature, especially in terms of income inequality (Black et al., 2005; Liebig & Sousa‐Poza, 2004; Stark, 2006). Other forms of inequality (e.g., gender inequality, education inequality, and racial inequality) have also been suggested to drive migration and individuals’ intention to migrate (Crowder & South, 2005; Williams, 2009). For example, Stark (2006) found that the incentives for people within a population to migrate were greater with a higher level of income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient. Among studies adopting inequality as a predictor, most employed some form of indices or national statistics and figures to quantify inequality; for example, income inequality is often represented by the Gini coefficient (Stark, 2006). While these indices provide an objective measurement, they do not take into consideration how individuals intending to migrate perceive and are affected by inequality. Assessing migration only on the macro and structural levels may fail to address individuals as active agents of migration who make conscious decisions (De Haas, 2011). That is, whether or not individuals know about and understand inequality in their place of residence and whether or not they perceive inequality as a problem could also be the keys to determining their intentions or decisions to migrate. These areas are rarely addressed by scholars.
Among one of the few exceptions, Cai and Wang (2008) assessed the influence of perceptions of inequality on migration in China through a case of rural to urban migration. The authors conceptualized inequality as migrants’ “individual migration motivation”. Inequality was measured by a few dimensions, including perceptions of exploitation at work, discrimination, the fairness of society, wage inequality, and social inclusion. Results of the study indicated that people who feel discriminated against and as though they are treated unequally have a higher tendency to migrate from rural to urban areas.
Trust and confidence in the law and the legal system
There is an established body of research on people’s trust and confidence in the law, legal authorities, and the legal system, spanning the areas of, for example, institutional justice, criminal justice, and the media (Tyler, 2001; Voicu & Tufiş, 2017; Wu, 2014). Yet, these studies have generally focused on gauging the level of trust and confidence of people in legal institutions from specific demographic backgrounds, such as ethnic minorities and new immigrants, and the factors that determine the different levels of trust and confidence (Tyler, 2001; Voicu & Tufiş, 2017; Wu, 2014). For instance, Tyler (2001) studied the institutional legitimacy of legal authorities, including the courts and the police, arguing that people tend to base their evaluations on their personal experiences with those authorities, including procedural fairness, and an institution’s ability to recognize people’s rights and treat people with dignity. Nevertheless, previous studies have yet to investigate whether or not and how public trust and confidence in the law and the legal system play a role as a predictor of people’s intention to emigrate.
The enactment of the National Security Law in July 2020 has drawn huge public attention to its effects on Hong Kong’s rule of law. With the law’s broad scope, uncertainties arose over its applicability to hitherto legal activities, and how various legal authorities, including the police, the courts, and the newly established Office for Safeguarding National Security, would operate under the new legal landscape (Hong Kong Free Press, 2021; South China Morning Post, 2021). Whether or not these drastic legal and political developments have strengthened or weakened Hong Kong people’s trust in legal authorities and, by extension, their desire to emigrate, is a question worthy of consideration.
Global citizenship
Global citizenship espouses the identities, practices, and responsibilities of people as world citizens who should understand and get involved in communities around the world in every respect (Davies, 2006; Oxfam n.d.; Oxley & Morris, 2013). Although literature explicitly ascertaining the associations between global citizenship involvements and identity and migration intentions is lacking, clues can be drawn from a similar case of transnational citizenship, the European Union (EU) citizenship. It was suggested in the case of EU citizenship that through social communications, involvement, and interactions with people of different nationalities and background, networks between people are created, thus a shared identity and sense of belonging can be formed in the community that is beyond local or national level (Mazzoni et al., 2018). In terms of empirical findings, correlations between EU participation and identification in terms of politics and economy, and people’s short- and long-term movements across EU countries were identified by Mazzoni et al. (2018). A similar study by Siklodi (2015) also showed that citizens recognizing a civic EU identity tend to be more active and mobile, while citizens who hold a national identity were more passive and likely to stay in the home country.
Under the context of the current study, we suggest that engagement in global citizenship issues may provide Hong Kong residents experiences in global involvement, and the development of an identity to be a global citizen. This global identity, deterritorialized in nature, provides an alternative to the identities at the local and national levels, such as ‘being a Hong Konger’ and ‘being a Chinese’, which citizens have to constantly juggle and which have been sources of disputes and conflicts in recent years (Chow et al., 2020). Therefore, with reference to the findings of previous literature, we propose that people’s practice and identification with global citizenship promote migration intentions.