Between 1984 and 1997, nearly that 800,000 Hong Kongers emigrated in advance of the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China. The majority settled in Western countries, primarily Canada and Australia. By 2005, it is estimated that 500,000 had returned to Hong Kong, either as permanent or temporary residents. This chapter explores the psychological experience of the cultural adaptation and re-adaptation of these immigrants, modifications in closely held values, and the profound consequences on self-identity and reforming family life.

To understand the value systems from which the emigrants were rooted and into which they arrived, Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions are explicated and Chinese and Western differences explored. Then, the psychological research is reviewed which explored Hong Konger acculturation patterns and variables to Canada, Australia, and the USA.

The chapter then turns to return migration and introduces the initial migration pattern of astronaut and boomerang. The Hong Kong Remigration Project is described and its methodology in collecting qualitative and quantitative data from returnees. Excerpts of those interviews provide the content of the remainder of the chapter. Reformations of family life were classified into: (1) husband and wife relations; (2) relations with elderly parents, grandparents, and siblings; (3) parent–child interactions; (4) adolescent adjustment; (5) school decisions; (6) residential decisions; and (7) balancing family and work.