Rona Yuthasastrakosol wrote:
>>Canada offered citizenship to Hong Kong nationals who had $100,000 at hand
>>for Canadian citizenship right after the turnover to China.
>
> That's news to me. I know of many Hong Kong nationals who came to Canada
> through the Immigrant Investor or Business Entrepreneur programs but those
> programs were not limited to Hong Kong nationals. Anyone with the required
> amount of money (IIRC, the amounts differed depending on which programme you
> applied for) who was accepted received *permanent residency* and after the
> standard number of years (used to be 5, might be 3 now) could apply for
> Canadian citizenship. These programs have been around since 1986 at least,
> and may have existed in a different form earlier (I had HK friends who
> immigrated in 1983 but I never discussed how their parents applied to come
> to Canada).

Robert shoots from the hip and never offers evidence for his outlandish
claims. I found the following information online which supports your
recollections.

Immigrants from Hong Kong

Between 1988 and 1993, the number of immigrants that arrived in
Canada from Hong Kong was 125,000. They are here because of the
perceived political uncertainty that may arise when Hong Kong
reverts back to China this year. To Hong Kongers, Canada is a
safe place to raise a family and a good place to invest in.

In 1993, only about 3,500 out of a total of 33,769 Hong Kong
immigrants entered Canada under the Business Immigration
Program, which means that most of them came under the Family
Class. Under the Family Class, Canadian Citizens and permanent
residents who are 19 and over and living in Canada, can sponsor
the applications of some close relatives or dependents who wish
to immigrate to Canada.

Other Hong Kong immigrants come under the Business Immigration
Program. There are several categories where these people could
fall under. Most of them are either Entrepreneurs or Investors.
Entrepreneurs are granted a visa if they invest a minimum of
$250,000 in the country and create jobs, and take upon a
managerial role in their business. Investors, on the other hand, can
take a more passive, but also a more expensive role by
investing $250,000-$500,000 (depending on which province they
will invest) in the country for a minimum of five years.

Most newcomers from Hong Kong flock to Toronto, Vancouver, or
Montreal. Others prefer to go to Calgary or Edmonton. Unlike the
immigrants of the last century, many of the newcomers from Hong
Kong today are well-educated professionals
http://www.interlog.com/~fccs/immigration.htm

More information about the BIP can be found at the following link:
http://cicnet.ci.gc.ca/english/business/index.html

**************
Note to Robert: You've yet to make a point that sticks. I also see
you've replied to my posts. What kind of crap did you make up this time?