Hong Kong protests have residents plotting their exit to Canada, Australia

In Canada, the surge in migration inquiries is reminiscent of the late 1990s in the run up to the handover of Hong Kong to China

When Kevin Tsang tuned into Carrie Lam's predawn press conference to condemn protesters who had ransacked government offices during a dramatic escalation of tensions over Hong Kong's controversial extradition bill, he didn't like what he heard.

So much so, that the 25-year-old surveyor is now considering emigrating to Australia.

Lam, the city's chief executive, dodged questions whether she could face the families of three people who had committed suicide to protest the bill, which would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to the mainland and is seen as a further erosion of the city's independence from Beijing.

"People sacrificed themselves to make their