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Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong is more draconian than many businesses had feared, especially clauses that could be used to target foreign citizens, the handling of “state secrets” and data security, warned lawyers, academics and investors.
The ability under the law for security agencies to arrest foreign nationals, including business people, and send them to the mainland for trial as well as other uncertainties could raise risk premiums in the city, they said.
The rapid erosion of autonomy has spooked many people in Hong Kong. A “tsunami” of residents are making plans to emigrate while others open offshore accounts.
Australia is preparing to join the UK in offering a haven for Hong Kong residents. The move by Canberra follows a request last month from London to its partners in the “Five Eyes” intelligence network for “burden sharing” if there was an exodus from Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, others argued the law could bring greater stability after a year of pro-democracy street protests in the Asian financial hub by reducing confrontations between police and demonstrators in Hong Kong.
Our editorial board writes that the new law means the end of one country, two systems. (FT)
Coronavirus digest
The US jobless rate dropped to 11 per cent in June before the virus began to spike again — particularly in the southern sunbelt states.
Angela Merkel has warned EU member states that the “world is watching” Europe as she urged them to seal a deal on a post-coronavirus recovery fund.
Exclusive: James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, has told the Financial Times that a wave of business failures owing to the pandemic could still trigger a financial crisis.
Schools in England will be expected to plan for remote learning in case of local virus outbreaks as well as preparing for a full return to the classroom in September. (FT)
In the news
UK court rejects claim on $1bn Venezuelan gold held by BoE A British court has dealt a blow to attempts by Nicolás Maduro’s regime to access $1bn of Venezuelan gold held at the Bank of England by ruling that opposition leader Juan Guaidó had been “unequivocally” recognised as Venezuela’s president by the UK. (FT)
US lawmakers approve Hong Kong Autonomy Act The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would penalise banks and foreign individuals for doing business with Chinese officials who implement Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong. (South China Morning Post)
Ghislaine Maxwell arrested in the US The one-time confidante of Jeffrey Epstein was apprehended on Thursday as part of a federal investigation that continued after the disgraced financier’s suicide in jail last year while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, the FBI said. (FT)
Biden beats Trump in June’s battle of the fundraisers Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised a record $141m in June, $10m more than Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee, in a sign of how both campaigns capitalised on the month’s tumult to fill their coffers. Follow the latest with our poll tracker. (FT)
Fatal landslide in Myanmar More than 160 people were killed in a landslide in a Myanmar jade mine. After a series of deadly accidents in recent years, critics are blaming government officials for failing to take action against unsafe conditions. (Associated Press)
Big Tech CEOs agree to testify to Congress The chief executives of Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook have confirmed they will appear before the House of Representatives judiciary committee, marking the first time all four technology giants have agreed to appear before lawmakers. (CNBC)
Oil majors face up to plunging asset values Executives in the oil industry — at least in Europe — are shifting from crisis response to the longer-term outlook and accelerating the transition towards cleaner fuels. Our relaunched Energy Source newsletter assesses the outlook for the industry. Sign up here. (FT)
Lemonade valued at $1.6bn ahead of IPO The insurance start-up made its stock market debut on Thursday. Lemonade said on Wednesday it had sold 11m shares at $29 each, exceeding the high end of its expected price range, but with a valuation below its last private financing. (FT)
The days ahead
Khashoggi trial Twenty Saudi officials will be tried in absentia in a Turkish court on Friday over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, hopes the trial will shed more light on the death and reveal where his body was hidden. (Reuters)
A star-spangled superspreader event As the US prepares to celebrate Independence Day this weekend, public health experts fear thousands more will contract the virus at indoor parties, crowded outdoor events, religious services and family gatherings. (FT)
The return of pubs England’s pubs, hotels, restaurants, hairdressers, cinemas and galleries will be allowed to reopen from Saturday and the two-metre social-distancing rule will be relaxed to “one-metre-plus”. (FT)
What else we’re reading
The lockdown death of a 20-year-old day trader The tragic suicide of Alex Kearns, a 20-year-old student from Illinois who killed himself after using the online brokerage Robinhood, has highlighted the dark side of the recent boom in retail investing. His death has amplified calls for reform. (FT)
Hong Kong law threatens freedom of information The media’s job is to expose corruption and abuses of power and hold governments accountable, writes Victor Mallet. That job is now more dangerous in Hong Kong. In 2018, Victor was denied a visa for having hosted a talk with a Hong Kong independence campaigner. (FT)
The race to become India’s TikTok The country’s 500m TikTok users lost their entertainment hub this week when India banned 59 Chinese mobile phone apps. And with a premium on online entertainment during the pandemic, several local apps are vying to become the “Made in India” alternative to TikTok. (Quartz)
How the pandemic is ‘hitting women hardest’ The virus has hit sectors that involve disproportionate numbers of women, says Oxford professor Linda Scott, who studies gender inequality. Her work became all the more personal when she became the primary carer for her granddaughter. In the Covid-economy, it is increasingly difficult to be a working parent. (FT, New York Times)
How America could fail its democracy test In three out of four US election games run by the Transition Integrity Project, a non-partisan group, the US republic hit constitutional impasse in January 2021, writes Edward Luce. Even in the fourth scenario, where Joe Biden had clearly won the popular vote and the electoral college, the result was contested. (FT)
Read more from Ed and Rana Foroohar in our Swamp Notes newsletter, which explores the business, foreign policy and economic dimensions of American politics in the build up to the critical 2020 election. Sign up here.
The geopolitical tussle over 5G Next-generation mobile telecoms networks are one of the few areas in technology where the US is almost entirely absent. Inside Nokia and Ericsson, European leaders in 5G, there is a sense that the EU has yet to grasp fully the implications of the US and Chinese interest in the technology, writes Richard Milne. (FT)
Has the time come for a UK net wealth tax? The total amount of private UK wealth, in absolute money terms and relative to income, has risen sharply — and become more concentrated at the very top. Claer Barrett makes the case for spending right now if you can afford to — especially since it’s unlikely you’ll be earning much interest on saving. (FT)
FT conversations
A look at what readers are talking about in the comments of “HK begins crackdown despite foreign condemnation”:
“A friend of mine visited mainland China last year and he reported with horror how the toilets use facial recognition to decide whether to dispense toilet paper. He isn’t Chinese so his face wasn’t on a government database, which meant he received no toilet paper. This is the literally Orwellian reality that the Chinese peoples live under. Post-Covid, I can only imagine things have become even worse. Who needs to watch Black Mirror when you can just look at China?” — Nouv
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50LzQwZjMxMDYzLWIzNDMtNDYyYS04MmMyLTY4NWUyYTRjZTAwMtIBAA?oc=5
2020-07-03 02:30:33Z
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