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Beijing's growing interference in Hong Kong is undermining the confidence of international companies in the country, according to a report by the US State Department.
Efforts to align the legal systems of Hong Kong and China, which are expected to be approved in the near future by the Hong Kong legislature, mean that Chinese courts will soon be able to seek the extradition of persons accused of Criminal offenses from a semi-autonomous territory and to seize their victims. badets if a court in China decides that they owe money.
"The pace of intervention of the central government of mainland China in Hong Kong business – and the Hong Kong government shares in line with the continental direction – have increased, accelerating the negative trends observed during previous periods, "released the Hong Kong Policy Act Report 2019 on Thursday, I said.
The report cited the de facto removal of the Government of Financial Times reporter Victor Mallet by the Hong Kong government last year, the ban on the Nationalist Independence Party Hong Kong National and the draft law on the Chinese national anthem, as examples of the pressure exerted on the continent which has brought new constraints for Hong Kong. Kong's political space ".
The publication of the document is raising growing concern in the legal and economic community that the extradition bill and the Chinese judgments maintenance project on "civil and commercial matters" could lead to Judicial errors and considerable risks for Hong Kong businessmen.
"There is an urgent need to improve connectivity," said Rico Chan, a partner at Baker McKenzie, explaining that the large number of businesses and cross-border transactions was leading to a growing number of disputes. "The question is whether closer means too close."
The law on civil and commercial matters would apply to any person residing in Hong Kong or China or even to any person having "a representative office, a branch, an office, a workplace[in Hong Kong or China]. . . and this action stems from the activities of this institution, "according to the agreement signed in January that was presented to the Legislative Council of the Territory.
Dennis Kwok, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, said that although lawyers generally welcomed the idea of strengthening ties with China in civil and commercial matters, the quality of the Chinese legal system and the Independence of the judicial system raised fears.
The lawyers also said that cases that would remain civil in many jurisdictions seemed to lead to criminal prosecution in China.
Steve Dickinson, a US attorney who badists foreign companies operating in China, said the Chinese civil courts were known to be powerless to enforce orders, which meant lenders often wanted a criminal conviction.
In the United States, the United Kingdom or Hong Kong, he explained, companies tend to sue civilians because they want to recover money for themselves, rather than to ask the authorities to lodge a complaint. "But in China, lenders are the government – it makes sense for them."
He added that it was common for debtors in China to be accused of financial fraud or lie about their income after failing to repay their loans.
The annual report is submitted to the US Congress to justify the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act, which allows Hong Kong to be treated as a separate non-sovereign entity from China for trade and economic matters under US law.
Additional report by Alice Woodhouse
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