The New York Times reported (February 24) that 53-year old Chen Tianyong, a former judge and lawyer and now a Chinese real estate developer in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Malta last month with no plans to return anytime soon. Before departing he posted a 28-page letter on WeChat captioned “Why I Left China - An Entrepreneur’s Farewell Admonition.” He said “China’s economy is like a giant ship heading to the precipice. Without fundamental changes, it’s inevitable that the ship will be wrecked and the passengers will die.” He urged “My friends, if you can leave, please make arrangements as early as possible.”

A recent survey of 465 wealthy individuals by Hurun, a Shanghai-based research firm, revealed that only one-third of China’s rich people say they are very confident in the country’s economic prospects. Two years ago, nearly two-thirds said they were very confident. Those who have no confidence at all rose to 14 percent, more than double the level of 2018. Nearly half said they were considering migrating to a foreign country or had already started the process.