News
Hong Kong lawmakers pass national security law
Hong Kong’s lawmakers have unanimously passed a new national security law that grants the government more power to quash dissent in the city.
The legislation is widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2019. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing in 2020 that has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub.
Critics worry the new law will further erode the civil liberties that Beijing promised to preserve for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Businesspeople and journalists have expressed fears that the law will affect their day-to-day work.
In other news, a report by the ECCT’s counterpart in China, says that uncertainty and “draconian regulations” have drastically raised risks for foreign businesses in China.
The report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, released on Wednesday, urges China's leaders to do more to address concerns that it says have “grown exponentially” in recent years.
Foreign investment in China fell 8% last year from a year earlier as companies recalibrated their commitments in the world's second largest economy.
EU Chamber representatives said China's changing business environment partly reflects moves by Beijing to minimize risks due to trade friction and dependence on imports of key commodities or industrial products but they said European companies also must manage their own risks.
