Volunteers across Salford were able to celebrate at the first ever Salford Hongkongers awards night last weekend.
The Salford Hongkongers CIC (SHK CIC) hosted the event on Saturday 22 February and were able to use the event to celebrate the ever-growing organisation.
Salford has become a vital place for the non-profit organisation as the city is home to more than 2,000 Hongkongers.
The growing population in Salford has led to the city being known as Britain’s ‘little Hong Kong’.
The organisation was formed in 2022 by a former district councillor and some of his constituents, who all now live in Salford, to ease their arrival into a new country.
Founders of SHK CIC understand the day-to-day difficulties of new immigrants and value the importance of their smooth integration to the local community – and believes in the value of diversity and inclusion.
Member Jasmine Chiu said: “The evening was all about giving recognition to everyone that’s worked hard to make Hongkongers feel at home and trying to broaden our reach. It is the first of many.
“One of our enduring challenges was trying to bridge into local communities but especially reaching our elected representatives. So that’s one of the reasons we invited three guests.”
The awards night also featured support from Salford Mayor Paul Dennett, Ceremonial Mayor Tanya Burch, and Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Following the award night Rebecca Long-Bailey said: “Moving to a new country takes immense bravery, the work of Salford Hongkongers CIC is more important than ever.
“Their efforts in supporting new arrivals and building community bridges are truly commendable.”
I was honoured to join @salford_mayor & Ceremonial Mayor Cllr Tanya Burch at the Salford Hongkongers CIC Awards, celebrating incredible volunteers whose work is vital in helping Hongkongers settle & build bridges in our community in Salford. Thank you for all you do! pic.twitter.com/uou0iwMWlk
— Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) February 23, 2025
More than 150,000 Hongkongers have moved to the UK since the creation of the British National Overseas (BNO) visa was introduced in 2021, which was introduced in response to restrictions on democratic freedoms in the country.
The Salford MP continued: “Salford has always been enriched by diversity, and Hongkongers have brought valuable contributions to our economy, public services, and cultural life.
“I was pleased to take part in celebration of their dedication and hard work — and thank them for all that they do.”
The organisation was grateful for the visit from important Salford figures, as Jasmine Chiu added: “We’re really glad they said yes because we’ve always wondered what kind of events or activities, we might be able to attract them to.
“Obviously we were overthinking, because Mayor Dennett and Rebecca Long-Bailey MP said they’d both love to go on one of our day trips, or to our board game nights.
“They’re citizens just like you and I, and we wanted to put a face to the names we see on news articles. It was to make our community feel that these people are not out of reach, which we were very used to feeling in Hong Kong, so that was also a nice feeling.”
She continued: “We run regular activities, including a monthly get together, it’s social and we have snacks and tea.
“It’s where a lot of people who’ve perhaps just arrived give or take less than a month ago will go to meet more people.”
The group’s itinerary ranges from Mahjong nights to easter egg hunts for children, but the group also hold important talks for adult members of the community.
Chiu said: “We’ve done a three-part workshop on first aid. Part of the inspiration for that was because a lot of the Hongkongers that come over usually have families with very young children and there are also a lot of pensioners.”
“For the past six to seven months we’ve held talks about mortgages and a very experienced para-legal prepares presentations on different aspects of law.
“For example, we did one about tenants’ rights in December, which was quite popular, as a lot of people are renting in the area,” she continued.
The group is still a young one and as well as continuing to host their regular activities, they are looking to make further changes, such as the translation of information on citizens’ advice.
Chiu finishes by highlighting some of the volunteers within the community, which you can listen to below.
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