Vancouver Is Bust for Many Asian Arrivals : Commerce: A lot of Hong Kong immigrants are returning to the colony to work because of lack of opportunity.

VANCOUVER, Canada —  The poor North American economy is forcing hundreds of Hong Kong immigrants to leave their families and return to the booming British colony to work, Chinese business leaders here say.

They said that about 20% of Hong Kong residents who have emigrated to Canada in the past five years have gone back to Asia or become “astronauts,” flying between the two countries.

“The trend is to go back there. Many are thinking of leaving, and some have already left,” said Vancouver real estate agent Andrea Eng, past president of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Assn.

Canada is still the favorite destination for emigrants from Hong Kong, accepting nearly half the 60,000 people who leave the bustling colony annually.

Vancouver, a Pacific port city of 1.7 million, has more than 200,000 people of Chinese descent. The Chinese population has doubled the past 10 years, mainly as a result of immigration from Hong Kong, which reverts to Chinese rule in 1997.

But Vancouver community leaders said that, with North America mired in a recession, many Chinese immigrants do not find suitable work in Canada and stay only long enough to get their citizenship.

“You can be a supervisor or at a management level in Hong Kong, but here you’re always at the bottom,” said Elaine Hung of the Chinese immigrant help group SUCCESS.

Hung said it was harder for Chinese men than women to find work in Canada, causing considerable family stress.

“The husbands can’t find jobs, and they stay at home and do housework--they’re very depressed,” she said.

She said it is common for these men to become “astronauts,” flying back and forth between their work in Hong Kong and their families in Vancouver.

Vancouver television executive Joe Chan said this arrangement can lead to family breakup. “When talking to a lot of these astronaut families, they don’t want to end up with the family splitting. This is the last resort,” he said.

Jeff Domansky, a Vancouver consultant with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, agreed that Hong Kong businessmen who come to Canada tend to become frustrated with the lack of opportunity here.

“Of course, the flip side is the lifestyle is very attractive in Vancouver, the schooling is quite good, the housing is relatively inexpensive compared to Hong Kong, so the families really settle in and like it here,” he said.

The Canadian government said that in the first seven months of this year, 23,900 Hong Kong residents emigrated to Canada.