Are Hong Kong's days as a global business hub over?
By Joyce Lee
There is a new running joke in Hong Kong: locals mock their city for losing its status as the darling of global capital. As one joked, it is the newest UNESCO world heritage site.
A tough security law – Article 23 – that came into effect over the weekend has only renewed the underlying concerns.
Authorities say it will protect the city and ensure stability, while critics are alarmed it will silence all dissent with its closed-door trials and life sentences for broadly-defined offences – from insurrection to treason.
It comes at a time when Beijing’s iron grip and US-China tensions were already driving away foreign investors who now have an “anywhere but China” policy, says Mr Chan, a real estate surveyor, who did not wish to disclose his full name.
“Hong Kong was seen as distinct from China so investors could still invest here – not anymore now,” he says.
The emphasis on national security and the danger posed by “foreign forces” – a running theme in the legislation and in Beijing’s recent policies – raises the stakes for foreign capital and businesses operating in the city.
“The business has been awful in the past two years and there was no major deal at all,” says Mr Tse, who works for a Chinese state-owned bank. He said his company fired 10% of their staff in June and another 5% just this past week. “No one knows when it will be their turn.”
