Digital visualization of transnationalism: a case study of Hong Kong migrants in Canada during the handover of Hong Kong period

Human migration is a global phenomenon due to the transition of policy, economy, society, and individual perspectives. As well, the international migration can play an important role in both regional and global transition. Hong Kong people have gone through a mass migration wave to western countries in 1980s and 1990s, during the period of the handover of Hong Kong, particularly in Canada. The purpose of this research is to map a migration wave from Hong Kong to Canada and back to Hong Kong during the crucial moment of Britain’s 1997 handover of political control of Hong Kong to China, especially during 1984 (when the decision was made) and 1997 (the handover approached), and to gain insight into the factors that reflect these trends of migration. The project involves applying digital technology approach, which is QGIS technology, to capture the nodal Hong Kong migrant patterns in Canada by destinations, gender, age group, and social class. Along with the concepts, the strong relationship between transnational space, changing institutions, cultural identity values and conflicts, and transition of affective sense of place that impacts on the motivations and practices of Hong Kong migrants will be addressed. This study is part of a body of research on transnational migration that across the nation border, which visualizes relationship networks between the space of Hong Kong and Canada, and spatial distribution of immigration from large-scale data.