Ukrainians in Hong Kong

Ukrainians in Hong Kong refer to people of Ukrainian nationality or with Ukrainian citizenship who live temporarily or permanently in Hong Kong. To unite the community and preserve the cultural heritage, an appropriate organization was created, which interacts with the consular corps of Ukraine in China. There is currently no Ukrainian embassy in Hong Kong, the closest consulate of Ukraine is in Guangzhou.

History
For a long time, there was no proof that a significant number of Ukrainians have lived in Hong Kong. However, after the destruction of the Ukrainian community in Manchuria by the Red Army, a number of them fled and settled in Hong Kong as a temporary refuge before furtherly moving to the countries of Latin America or Australia.

The growth of interest and interest in Hong Kong appeared after Ukraine gained independence, as well as following the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 to the People's Republic of China. In the late 1990s, travelers, travelers, and the first Ukrainian businessmen stayed there. However, the emergence of the Ukrainian community as such dates back to the early 2000s.

There are currently around 100 to 200 Ukrainians living in Hong Kong. It is difficult to count the exact number of them since many are temporarily working or studying in Hong Kong.

Most Ukrainians in Hong Kong are from Crimea, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Vinnytsia, from Western and Eastern Ukraine, and are part of the diasporas of Australia and Canada.

Ukrainians in Hong Kong work as IT specialists, artists, singers, models, lawyers, accountants, pilots and other airline employees, scientists, doctors, beauty salon workers, diving trainers, and private entrepreneurs. There are two Ukrainian restaurants in Hong Kong, the more famous of which is Ivan The Kozak in Central which opened in 2001. The restaurant gained more popularity since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2024, local television ViuTV interviewed the owner of Ivan The Kozak, Victoria in a New Year program, sharing the fusion of both Ukrainian and Hong Kong cuisine and her story especially after the start of the full-scale invasion of her country by Russia.

Organisations
For a considerable period in Hong Kong, there were separate initiative groups that were not united in a society or association. The events of Euromaidan, the Revolution of Dignity, and the onslaught of the Russo-Ukrainian War beginning with the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas raised self-awareness and created one organization. In 2014, the Ukrainian Society of Hong Kong was created and officially registered. Its members are about 100 people. The most proactive members are Kateryna Kardash and Oksana Smoliichuk.

The society organises joint celebrations of state and religious Ukrainian holidays. In addition, cultural events, literary readings, and screenings of Ukrainian films are regularly organised. The Ukrainian Film Nights project — a monthly screening of Ukrainian films in Hong Kong has been launched. This film event is aimed at popularising Ukrainian culture, identities, history, and Ukraine in general in Hong Kong.

Ukrainians in Hong Kong joined worldwide demonstrations against the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Cooperation has been established with volunteer organizations in Ukraine that help ATO soldiers, by collecting necessary items for them.

The Ukrainian Society of Hong Kong community was created on Facebook to inform about the donation back to Ukraine, which was joined by Ukrainians from Macau, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.