Enactment of the “Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Act” has put a full-scale move into the operation of related organizations July 2, 19:07
The secretary-general of the newly established “National Security Maintenance Committee” in Hong Kong was appointed on the 2nd, and following the enforcement of the “Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Law”, the movement toward the operation of related organizations is in full swing. On the other hand, there is growing concern among the public that the law enforcement is becoming more stringent after police enforcement.
In response to the enforcement of the "Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Act," the Chinese government was appointed Secretary-General of the newly established "National Security Maintenance Commission" in Hong Kong, who was the chief of the Secretary-General's Office. Announced that Mr. Kunimoto was appointed.
The "National Security Maintenance Committee" is working with advisors dispatched from China to analyze the security situation and formulate policies related to national security, and the movement towards the operation of related organizations is in full swing.
On the other hand, in Hong Kong, a large number of citizens protested on the 1st, police arrested about 370 people for participating in an illegal rally, among others, possessing a flag saying "Hong Kong Independence" Announced that the Hong Kong National Security Act was applied to 10 people including men.
Citizens are worried about the increasing severity of police enforcement since the law came into force.
A woman in her thirties said, "After the enforcement, there were arrests immediately. Police may tighten the crackdown in the future."
Another man said, "I will be careful about discussing social topics in the future. I will not be able to speak on social media before."
Japanese companies in Hong Kong
According to JETRO-Japan External Trade Organization, there are more than 1400 Japanese companies operating in Hong Kong last year, which has been flat since 2013.
Japan has the largest number of foreign companies operating in Hong Kong, surpassing 1300 companies in the United States and 700 companies in the United Kingdom.
Approximately half of these, 750 companies, which do business in Hong Kong such as food and retail, have more than tripled in about 20 years due to the expansion of Hong Kong's economic scale.
On the other hand, with the economic development of mainland China, the size of Hong Kong's economy has become relatively small compared to other major cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai. Is moving to the city.
The Hong Kong economy has been sluggish since the latter half of last year due to prolonged trade friction between the United States and China, large-scale protests, and the effects of the new coronavirus.
Regarding the impact of the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Act" on the business of Japanese companies, JETRO staff said, "It seems that there is no immediate impact, but ask local companies what kind of impact it will have in the medium to long term. I want to find out by doing it."
There is concern about the functioning of the financial center
Some believe that the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Act", which controls anti-government moves in Hong Kong, will lead to the decline of Hong Kong's function as a financial center.
Hong Kong has become a center of financial services in Asia, with a free investment environment that is different from mainland China, where capital movements are tightly regulated, with major financial institutions in Japan, Europe and the United States as its bases.
Many Japanese companies have also made inroads, with the largest number in the world being approximately 1,400, excluding those in mainland China.
However, it is also feared that the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Law will increase the political involvement of the Chinese government, which will affect the free business environment on the premise of independent judiciary.
In addition, the US government has a policy of abolishing preferential treatments such as trade and financial transactions, which are approved in Hong Kong, with some exceptions, and if implemented, it will inevitably cause a big hit.
In a ranking of international financial centers in cities around the world announced by think tanks in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong fell from 3rd place last fall to 6th place last March. There is also a view that the ranking will go down.
Yuichiro Harada, Director of the East Asian Financing Department, Mizuho Bank, who is familiar with the Hong Kong financial market, points out that ``the short-term impact is not expected so far, but there is a possibility that it will have a significant impact in the long run.'' ..
According to Mr. Harada, Hong Kong's characteristic is that, in addition to being able to speak English, it has convenient access to the currency exchange market of the renminbi and the markets of mainland China. , This won't tip over overnight."
On the other hand, “The demographics of last year have caused the economy of Hong Kong to decline considerably, and when policies such as this one with strong political factors are implemented, companies generally do not know where to touch the law and move conservatively. There is a high possibility that the position as a financial center will not go as it used to in the future.”
Regarding the future, he said, "It is true that there is a lot of uncertainty, so the focus will be on how the Chinese authorities and the Hong Kong government will implement the Hong Kong National Security Act."
Mainland China will be affected if financial function declines
For China, which has continued to achieve high economic growth by attracting foreign investment, Hong Kong has become an important window for accepting foreign funds.
However, if the function and status of Hong Kong as an international financial center declines due to the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Act, it could affect the financing of companies in mainland China.
Many large Chinese companies, including state-owned companies, have their shares listed on the Hong Kong stock market, where large Chinese IT companies are also listed.
In November last year, China's largest online mail order company "Alibaba" was listed, raising more than 1 trillion yen in Japanese yen, and last month's second online mail order "Kyoto" was listed for 4000. We have raised more than 100 million yen.
In addition, because there are many restrictions on the movement of capital in mainland China, such as a cap on exchange with RMB, even when foreign investors invest in the markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen, they also pass through the Hong Kong market. There are many cases in which you invest.
Although the Chinese government is gradually deregulating financial aspects, it is difficult in the short term for the mainland's financial markets to function as an alternative to Hong Kong, and if Hong Kong's financial functions decline, The economic blow seems inevitable.
*"Sen" is a soil river
Movement to remove "Lennon Wall"
In Hong Kong where the "Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Act" was enforced, there is a growing movement for citizens to remove paper that has been written on the walls of restaurants, such as criticisms of the Chinese government, for fear of being cracked down. I am.
In Hong Kong, since last summer, citizens have criticized the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, and have written their wishes for democratization on memo paper and pasted them on the wall to show protest intentions. It has been called the "Lennon Wall" after the accused John Lennon.
Among them, in the restaurants in the center, paper handwritten by regular customers such as "Regain Hong Kong" or "Hong Kong people do their best" was pasted on the entrance and wall of the store, but immediately after the law came into force It means that they were all removed on the night of the 30th of last month.
The restaurant owner said, "I didn't know the details of the law, but I decided to peel it off for safety."
According to a person related to another restaurant, there is a backlash that "it threatens the freedom of speech" because some restaurants were suspected of violating the law by the police and were told to search.