The measures, which further tighten the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020, have fuelled concerns about the former British colony’s future as Asia’s business hub.
Western businesses in Hong Kong face growing uncertainty after politicians passed draconian new national security laws that will align the city-state even more closely with Beijing.
Analysts pointed to the broad and vague wording of the new laws, which expand the definition of state secrets to cover information ranging from “diplomatic and foreign affairs activities” to the “economic or social development” of both Hong Kong and China.This will spark fears that financial professionals gathering corporate information for work such as audits and analysis could be accused of espionage and be detained or even imprisoned.
Many multinational companies have already moved their Asian headquarters away from Hong Kong to locations such as Singapore due to concerns about tightening Chinese control., the pro-democracy newspaper shut down in 2021. Its founder, Jimmy Lai, is on trial for a range of charges under the national security laws.
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