They went to the best universities in China and in the West. They lived middle-class lives in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and worked for technology companies at the center of China’s tech rivalry with the United States.

Now they are living and working in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia — and just about any developed country.

Chinese — from young people to entrepreneurs — are voting with their feet to escape political oppression, bleak economic prospects and often grueling work cultures. Increasingly, the exodus includes tech professionals and other well-educated middle-class Chinese.

“I left China because I didn’t like the social and political environment,” said Chen Liangshi, 36, who worked on artificial intelligence projects at Baidu and Alibaba, two of China’s biggest tech companies, before leaving the country in early 2020. He made the decision after China abolished the term limit for the presidency in 2018, a move that allowed its top leader, Xi Jinping, to stay in power indefinitely.

“I will not return to China until it becomes democratic,” he said, “and the people can live without fear.” He now works for Meta in London.

    • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I think this article focuses more on personal reasons. For example:

      When Ms. Zhang decided to emigrate in July 2022, she made a list: Canada, New Zealand, Germany and Nordic countries. The United States didn’t make it because she knew it would be extremely difficult for her to get a work visa.

      Ms. Zhang, 27, a computer programmer, felt the hustle culture of Silicon Valley was too similar to China’s grueling work environment. After putting in long hours at a top tech company in Shenzhen for five years, she was done with that. She also sought a country where women were treated more equally. This year, she moved to Norway. After paying taxes for three years and passing the language exam, she will get permanent residency.

      • MonosyllabicAmerican@lemmynsfw.com
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        1 year ago

        Hey good for her, Norway is awesome if she can live with the winters, the different culture and a relatively small Chinese population. Sounds like it worked out for her in the end.

    • MonosyllabicAmerican@lemmynsfw.com
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      1 year ago

      I know Lemmy is just Reddit 2.0 and aMeRiCa bAd and everything, but believe it or not we still attract and churn out some of the world's brightest and are leading the pack in tech development and entertainment (which are often not coincidentally intertwined).