Businesses operating in Hong Kong could fall afoul of national security legislation and face heightened legal and regulatory risks, including contravening US sanctions, an alert issued on Friday by the White House said.
The advisory said the additional danger was posed by China’s March implementation of the Article 23 security legislation in Hong Kong, which the US has warned could further erode human rights protections and be used to prosecute routine business activities.
“The vaguely defined nature of the law and previous government statements and actions raise questions about risks associated with routine activities,” it said of the new Article 23 law.
Photo: Reuters
US authorities are concerned that lobbying, market analysis relying on government data, publishing media analysis or commentary, or engaging with reporters, think tanks or nongovernmental organizations could be classified as threats to national security, the bulletin said.
“Businesses should be aware that the risks they face in the People’s Republic of China are now increasingly present in Hong Kong,” US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller wrote in a social media post.
More than 300 people have been arrested under an initial 2020 security law in Hong Kong, including a US citizen, the State Department said.
The advisory also said that Russia was increasingly using Hong Kong as a midway point to evade sanctions and export controls imposed because of its invasion of Ukraine, and that the territory also served as a hub for chemical and pharmaceutical companies helping to supply precursor chemicals for the production of fentanyl.
Moreover, Hong Kong is a primary pathway to circumvent export controls related to Chinese semiconductor manufacturing, the US said.
As a result, US firms should take special care to avoid doing business with individuals or entities that could be subject to sanctions, the bulletin said.
The advisory updated a warning the State Department first issued in 2021, shortly after Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong, and was altered in part to account for changes passed by the territory’s Safeguarding National Security ordinance in March.
Hong Kong authorities have downplayed the significance of the provisions, saying they are similar to security laws in other countries.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan (陳國基) yesterday said the US advisory was an attempt to suppress China’s rise and that national security cases are treated fairly in court.
“The National Security Law has been enacted for a long time and we can all see that we have never groundlessly arrested any business people,” Chan told reporters.
The US advisory “involves an element of intimidation, to scare away business people hoping to invest in Hong Kong. I don’t think this ploy will succeed,” he said.
Additional reporting by AFP
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS