Hong Kongers search for new lives in U.K. a year after visa rollout

Thousands join exodus over fears about Beijing's national security law

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Demonstrators march in London to protest Hong Kong's declining press freedom. A one-year-old special visa program has opened the door for a large chunk of the city's population to settle in the U.K.  © AP

RHYANNON BARTLETT-IMADEGAWA, PAK YIU, and YUSUKE NAKAJIMA , Nikkei staff writers

LONDON/HONG KONG -- Hong Kong teacher Randolph Lam saw the writing on the wall when his high school's curriculum was suddenly changed to align with a new Beijing-imposed national security law.

It was mid-2020 and the controversial bill had sent a chill through the city. Critics slammed it as an assault on Hong Kong's democracy and Lam knew it wouldn't be long before the sweeping new rules forever changed the city where he was born, including what his three children learned at school.

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