The Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress decided on Friday (August 20) to suspend voting on the proposal to include the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in Hong Kong and Macau legal documents, but will continue to study related issues.
China and the United States have had frictions on trade, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other issues. The two sides have sanctioned each other’s officials, individuals or institutions. China implemented the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in June this year, allowing relevant government departments to add foreign persons or organizations to the sanctions list. However, since Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions, this law would not have been applied to Hong Kong and Macau.
However, there is news that Beijing intends to extend the law to Hong Kong and Macau, which has aroused the worries of many foreign companies in Hong Kong. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong also stated that it hopes to have a dialogue with the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to learn more about the details of the law.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Hong Kong officials including Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam on the grounds of human rights issues in the past. Many banks in Hong Kong, including Chinese banks, have also stopped providing services to these sanctioned persons. With the implementation of the Foreign Sanctions Law, banks may face pressure. Whether it is to implement sanctions imposed by China or the United States, there may also be consequences.
“I hope to hear more opinions”
China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law came into effect on June 10 this year, stipulating that the relevant departments of the Chinese government can decide to include individuals and organizations directly or indirectly involved in the formulation, decision and implementation of discriminatory restrictive measures on the counter-list, which may also include The spouses and immediate family members of these individuals, senior managers of the organization, etc. Specific countermeasures can include non-issuance of visas, denial of entry, sealing up, and seizure of movable and immovable properties in China.
However, as the Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau stipulate that, except for the laws listed in Annex III, most of the laws in Mainland China will not apply to Hong Kong and Macau. If the Beijing government wants to implement this law in both places, the National People’s Congress must The Standing Committee voted to include it in Annex III.
Earlier news broke that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress was originally scheduled to review the relevant drafts at this meeting, but the final decision was postponed. Many media believed that this was unexpected news.
The authorities did not explain the reasons in detail, but the South China Morning Post quoted sources as saying that the central government “wants to hear more opinions.”
Tan Yaozong, the only representative of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress from Hong Kong, said after the closing of the meeting on Friday that he believed that the actions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress could make the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law “more effective.”
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor once expressed support for Hong Kong’s “self-enactment” to implement the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. She stated on August 17 that if the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law is passed into Hong Kong’s Basic Law, it may cause anxiety, so Suggested to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress that this law should be implemented through the “local legislation method”. I think it will help explain it to the outside world. However, the Hong Kong government does not have a legislative timetable, and the term of the current Legislative Council will end in October. , To require public consultation before formal legislation, “time is very tight.”
The Hong Kong government stated after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adjourned the resolution that all decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Hong Kong matters are based on Hong Kong’s interests. “The SAR government will fully support, implement and cooperate with the relevant decisions.” The statement did not mention the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Act, but emphasized that after the National Security Act, the rule of law in Hong Kong has not been compromised, and the status of the international financial center is as stable as it used to be. Planning Outline.
Chinese political scholar Chen Daoyin analyzed to the media that the sudden suspension of the motion by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is unusual, and it may be a temporary decision made by the Chinese top. He believes that this law originally had more political expressions than actual effects, but once it is implemented in Hong Kong, it may further affect the confidence of foreign investors, which may be due to economic reasons.
When interviewed by the Hong Kong media, Liu Zhaojia, the vice chairman of the National Society of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, believes that Western companies cannot be ruled out from telling their concerns to their governments and making them make suggestions to the Chinese government behind the scenes. Hong Kong’s Application Issues”.
“Stand aside”
The United States imposed sanctions on a number of Hong Kong officials last year, prohibiting American companies or companies with operations in the United States from having business dealings with the sanctioned persons, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Affected by the sanctions, Carrie Lam revealed that she no longer has a bank account and the Hong Kong government needs to pay her salary in cash.
Although the sanctions imposed by the United States have no legal effect in Hong Kong, financial institutions in Hong Kong will assess whether providing services to these sanctioned persons will incur U.S. penalties and affect their business in the United States. Hong Kong banks still choose to comply with the United States. Sanctions, including Chinese banks.
If Hong Kong implements the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Act, international banks with operations in Hong Kong may face pressure due to the law to enforce US sanctions and need to “step aside” to choose between Chinese or US sanctions. The pro-Beijing camp in Hong Kong believes that the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law can make it more difficult for other countries to sanction officials in China and Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Chen Maobo, believes that legislation can enable ruthless opponents to face reality and return to a rational attitude to negotiate and solve problems, describing it as a strategy of “controlling war by war and stopping war by war”.
Agence France-Presse earlier quoted people in the banking industry as saying that if they choose to implement sanctions from China or the United States, banks will choose to implement sanctions from the United States because the use of U.S. dollars is “too important for banks.”