Middle East war drives 35% rise in Hongkongers’ overseas help requests

Hongkongers’ requests for help from overseas jumped 35 per cent in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, the city’s immigration chief has revealed, attributing the rise to the War in the Middle East.Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung told reporters on Saturday that his department had received around 3,160 requests for assistance from Hong Kong residents overseas between January and August this year.“The rise mainly came from the military conflict in the Middle East earlier this year. Of the rest, half involved Lost identity documents,” Kwok said.