Shall I go or should I stay? It’s a conversation that is taking place in more or less every household in Hong Kong whose members have the option of emigrating.

A recent public opinion survey contains the breathtaking finding that 20 per cent of respondents intend to emigrate, of whom 45 per cent are planning to do so within the next two years. In other words around 1.5 million Hongkongers are actively thinking of leaving.

There is no mystery about why this is so. Hongkongers have been seriously rattled by the introduction of the new National Security Law. There are fears that the white terror sweeping through the education system will lead to indoctrination of children and concerns that once Hong Kong ceases to be an international centre, the economy will sink.

Overshadowing all this is the fear of the midnight knock on the door as the rule of law is transformed into rule by law. Many people who are not directly involved in politics nervously try to assure themselves that they have nothing to fear if they stay quiet and keep their thoughts to themselves. However even the smallest familiarity with history should be sufficient to understand that silence affords only minimal protection in a police state.

So people are agonising over the enormous decision of whether to up sticks and go. It is a massive decision by any standards. All the more so when it involves leaving a place that is deeply loved and gave its citizens great opportunities, material comfort and a way of life that they are loath to leave behind.