As Hong Kong is torn by unrest, a family anguishes over whether to stay or go

HONG KONG - In the years leading up the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, hundreds of thousands of residents fearful of communist rule moved abroad. Virginia Tsang and her family stayed put.

When the city was shaken in 2003 by mass protests over a draconian national security law, and again in 2014 by the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement sit-in, Tsang remained on the sidelines.

Politics never worried her.

The demonstrations that erupted in June profoundly changed that. Enraged by government intransigence, police brutality and the decline of Hong Kong's autonomy, the 49-year-old bookkeeper has attended pro-democracy rallies nearly every weekend.

And now Tsang has decided to relocate to Edmonton, Alberta.

"This is my home. Until now, I never thought of leaving," she said. "But Hong Kong is no longer the same. It feels like a police state. I'm so scared."

Early Monday, matters took an even more perilous turn when