Tag Archives: pro-democracy protests

Hong Kong bank account freezes rekindle asset safety fears

By Sumeet Chatterjee and Clare Jim

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police moves to freeze the accounts of several people linked to pro-democracy protests is prompting some residents to shift part of their savings overseas, bankers and lawyers said.

Banks were asked by police to freeze the accounts of veteran activist Ted Hui and his family last week, and on Monday a local church’s account was blocked, all on suspicion of money laundering.

The cases involved bank accounts held at HSBC, among others. Asked about the church’s account, HSBC said on Tuesday it did not comment on specific accounts. While limited, the police moves have triggered concerns that asset freezing could be used against Beijing opponents in Hong Kong to crack down on dissent, said the bankers and lawyers, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Jimmy Chung, who works in retail planning, opened a bank account in Switzerland in June, around the time the government passed a national security in response to last year’s violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The 40-year-old, who has no ties to political activists in Hong Kong, said he transferred thousands of dollars of his savings by July and is now considering moving more offshore.

“I never thought things would be evolving this fast, so I have to make more contingency plans,” said Chung, referring to the recent bank account freezes.

Chung’s reaction mirrors that of others worried by events in the financial hub, which attracts significant investment.

Two senior bankers said some of their clients, who opened offshore accounts last year, have started moving funds.

“The people who were sitting on the fence are starting to take action now,” one of them said. “They are worried that this (account freezing) could become more widespread and they have a lot to lose if all their savings are in Hong Kong.”

Another banker with a European wealth manager said some clients, who had no involvement in the protests, were converting assets denominated in local currency into U.S. dollars as they prepared to move them offshore.

‘RETALIATION’

Hong Kong has not seen large capital outflows despite the protests, instead benefiting from inflows tied to a large number of public offering of shares.

Responding to criticism that freezing the account of ex-lawmaker Hui, who fled to Britain after criminal charges related to the protests, would hurt Hong Kong’s image, its leader Carrie Lam said the financial and monetary systems remained robust.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said that the freezing of funds or property related to criminal investigations was by law enforcement agencies and banks were expected to cooperate.

“The main concern here is if this (power) is being used more loosely,” a lawyer who advises wealthy individuals said.

“People are now asking what would be the best alternative for them to safely park their assets.”

The Good Neighbor North District Church, whose volunteers gave “humanitarian aid” to protesters, said on Facebook that its HSBC account was frozen as an “act of political retaliation”.

The Hong Kong police said they asked a bank on Monday to freeze five accounts, involving a total of $3.2 million, related to suspicion of fraud and money laundering.

The police did not name the bank involved.

($1 = 7.7508 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Clare Jim; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Alexander Smith)

China plans national security laws for Hong Kong after last year’s unrest

By James Pomfret and Clare Jim

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China will propose national security laws for Hong Kong in response to last year’s often violent pro-democracy protests that plunged the city into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, state news agency Xinhua said.

The report confirmed what three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Xinhua said a preparatory meeting for a Chinese parliament session adopted an agenda that included an item to review a bill “on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security”.

The South China Morning Post newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said the laws would ban secession, foreign interference, terrorism and all seditious activities aimed at toppling the central government and any external interference in the former British colony.

The legislation, which could be introduced as a motion to China’s parliament, could be a turning point for its freest and most international city, potentially triggering a revision of its special status in Washington and likely to spark more unrest.

Online posts have already emerged urging people to gather to protest on Thursday night and dozens were seen shouting pro-democracy slogans in a shopping mall as riot police stood nearby.

Hong Kong people took to the streets last year, sometimes in their millions, to protest a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of criminal suspects to mainland China. The movement broadened to include demands for broader democracy amid perceptions that Beijing was tightening its grip over the city.

“If Beijing passes the law … how (far) will civil society resist repressive laws? How much impact will it unleash onto Hong Kong as an international financial centre?” said Ming Sing, political scientist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The Hong Kong dollar weakened on the news.

The technical details of the proposals remain unclear but an announcement will be made in Beijing later on Thursday, one senior Hong Kong government source said.

China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, is due to begin its annual session on Friday, after being delayed for months by the coronavirus.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on May 6 he was delaying the report assessing whether Hong Kong was sufficiently autonomous to warrant Washington’s special economic treatment that has helped it remain a world financial centre.

The delay was to account for any actions at the National People’s Congress, he said.

Tension between the two superpowers has heightened in recent weeks, as they exchanged accusations on the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, souring an already worsening relationship over trade.

BYPASS MECHANISM

A previous attempt by Hong Kong to introduce national security legislation, known as Article 23, in 2003 was met with mass peaceful protests and shelved.

Hong Kong has a constitutional obligation to enact Article 23 “on its own”, but similar laws can be introduced by Beijing separately into an annex of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

That legal mechanism could bypass the city’s legislature as the laws could be imposed by promulgation by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government.

“Some people are destroying Hong Kong’s peace and stability. Beijing saw all that has happened,” pro-establishment lawmaker Christopher Cheung, who is not part of discussions in Beijing, told Reuters.

“Legislation is necessary and the sooner the better.”

National security legislation has been strongly opposed by pro-democracy protesters who argue it could erode the city’s freedoms and high degree of autonomy, guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula put in place when it returned to Chinese rule.

A senior Western diplomat, who declined to be identified, said the imposition of such laws from China, without any local legislative process, would hurt international perceptions about the city and its economy.

Protesters denounce what they see as the creeping meddling in Hong Kong by China’s Communist Party rulers. Beijing denies the charge and blames the West, especially the United States and Britain, for stirring up trouble.

(Additional reporting by Greg Torode, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu and Jessie Pang; writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick Macfie)

China tells U.S. and Britain to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) – China’s ambassador to London on Monday accused foreign countries including the United States and Britain of interfering in Chinese internal affairs through their reactions to the violent clashes taking place in Hong Kong.

The Asian financial hub, which was handed over to China by former colonial ruler Britain in 1997 but enjoys a degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” formula, has been plunged into chaos for almost six months.

In a dramatic escalation, Hong Kong police were laying siege to a university in Hong Kong, firing rubber bullets and tear gas to push back anti-government protesters armed with petrol bombs and other weapons to stop them from fleeing.

In London, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming called a news conference at the Chinese Embassy to comment on events in Hong Kong and criticise Western governments and media for their responses to the crisis.

“Some Western countries have publicly supported extreme violent offenders,” he said.

“The U.S. House of Representatives adopted the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to blatantly interfere in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal affairs.

“The British government and the foreign affairs committee of the House of Commons published China-related reports making irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong.”

Liu also said that by criticising violent actions by the authorities as well as by the protesters, Britain was in effect taking sides.

“I think when the British government criticises Hong Kong police, criticises the Hong Kong government in handling the situation, they are interfering into China’s internal affairs,” he said.

“They look like they are balanced but as a matter of fact they are taking sides. That is our position.”

The ambassador also attacked Western media, saying that reporting on Hong Kong was misleading and did not give enough prominence to violence perpetrated by the protesters. He also dismissed Western media reports on the separate issue of what U.N. experts and activists condemn as repression in China’s western Xinjiang region as “pure fabrication”.

As the ambassador’s news conference was unfolding, the British Foreign Office issued the latest in a series of statements about Hong Kong.

“The UK is seriously concerned by the escalation in violence from both the protesters and the authorities around Hong Kong university campuses,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.

“It is vital that those who are injured are able to receive appropriate medical treatment, and that safe passage is made available for all those who wish to leave the area. We need to see an end to the violence, and for all sides to engage in meaningful political dialogue ahead of the District Council elections on Sunday.”

Also during the news conference at the embassy, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on all sides to show restraint.

The European Commission on Monday also called on law enforcement authorities to keep their action “strictly proportionate”.

(Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Elizabeth Piper and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alison Williams)

Suspend Hong Kong status in event of China crackdown: U.S. commission

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress should enact legislation that would suspend the special economic status Hong Kong enjoys under U.S. law should China deploy forces to crush protests in the territory, a congressional advisory body said on Thursday.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which is tasked with monitoring the national security implications of U.S. relations with Beijing, issued the call in its annual report among a series of tough proposals reflecting a “markedly more confrontational” relationship.

It said that, with Beijing seeking to build a “world class” military and warning of its willingness to take military action to defend its interests, Washington “must plan for worst-case scenarios, while trying to achieve the best ones.”

A push in the U.S. Congress for legislation to support pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and pressure China to refrain from a violent crackdown has faced obstacles, raising questions about whether it will ever become law.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed Hong Kong human rights legislation last month, including a bill that would place Hong Kong’s special treatment under tighter scrutiny.

A Senate committee approved a similar measure in September but it has yet to be scheduled for a vote by the full body and the White House has not said whether President Donald Trump would sign or veto such a bill.

The commission’s recommendations go further, calling for legislation to suspend Hong Kong’s special status if China “deploys People’s Liberation Army or People’s Armed Police forces to engage in armed intervention in Hong Kong.”

It also urged Congress to direct the State Department to develop specific benchmarks to measure the “high degree of autonomy” the territory is meant to enjoy from Beijing.

Two senior senators began a process on Thursday aimed at quickly passing the Senate bill, amid a surge in violence following months of protests in Hong Kong.

Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio, another Republican who is a senior member of the panel, want to pass the bill by unanimous voice vote, but it remains unclear when that might happen.

On Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province but which Washington is bound to help defend, the USCC called for a Pentagon study to form the basis of a 15-year plan of action to deter any attempt by Beijing to absorb the island by force.

It also called for legislation to direct the administration to increase military exchanges and training with Taiwan.

“Just as nations sought freedom from the iron grip of the Soviet system, we are bearing witness to aspirations in both Hong Kong and Taiwan which require our reconsideration of the commitments we made under the one-country, two-systems model,” USCC vice chair, Robin Cleveland, said in introducing the report.

The commission highlighted the deepening ties between China and Russia, and said Congress should seek an intelligence assessment of the effect this could have on the United States and its allies and on how to respond.

USCC recommendations are nonbinding but have become increasingly influential with policy makers. Its prescriptions are routinely denounced by Beijing. China’s Washington embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report focused closely on Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s bid to tighten his and the Communist Party’s grip on power and argued he should be referred to as “general secretary” of that party, rather than by the “unearned title of ‘President.'”

The USCC said U.S.-China relations had deteriorated “significantly” in the past year, during which time both sides imposed retaliatory tariffs in a damaging trade war and Beijing stepped up efforts to promote itself as a global leader able to project military power beyond the Indo-Pacific, as well as into space.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Addtional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Paul Tait and Jonathan Oatis)