HONG KONG: China's new security law has sent fear coursing through many Hong Kong residents, but the city's commercial community has largely embraced it as a way to get back to doing business.
The controversial legislation has granted mainland Chinese authorities unprecedented control as they seek to end the protests that plunged Hong Kong into turmoil last year.
Despite warnings from rights groups and legal analysts that it could be a fatal blow to the city's legal autonomy and political freedoms, many in the business community have welcomed the law as a way to restore stability.
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce described the passing of the law earlier this week as "instrumental in helping to restore stability and certainty to Hong Kong, which has been severely impacted by the social unrest since last year".
"We need a stable environment which the (security law) aims to provide."
British banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered - both with a major presence in Hong Kong and on the mainland - joined other firms in publicly backing the law last month.
Analysts and members of the business community have said the law could add to the risk and complexity of doing business in Hong Kong, but it is unlikely to spark a mass exodus of foreign firms.
Hong Kong stocks rallied almost 3 per cent Thursday, led by property firms with investors betting that the law will restore stability to the city.
"By and large, the mindset of business people is always to try and carry on as if nothing has changed, and try and avoid the political risks," said Ben Bland, a political analyst at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.
"So I'm not surprised by the sort of reactions we've seen."
Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays, told Bloomberg News it was a "very difficult political situation".
He added: "We're not going to get involved in the politics of Hong Kong."
The text of the law has set off alarm bells with its broad phrasing of offences and the supremacy of the mainland's Communist Party-controlled courts over Hong Kong's.
The city transformed itself into a global financial hub thanks to the reputation of its independent judiciary, becoming a centre for settlements and arbitration - especially with mainland firms.
That legal autonomy - among other freedoms for its residents - was guaranteed for 50 years under the "One Country, Two Systems" agreement that saw Britain hand over the colony to China in 1997.
It created a firewall between the city and China's opaque legal system - and also helped Hong Kong act as a gateway to the mainland for foreign firms.
The new law has undermined that system, and the Hong Kong Bar Association said it was "gravely concerned".
The law threatens protections including fair trials, fundamental rights and freedom of expression, the organisation said in a blistering critique on Wednesday.
While there is unlikely to be an overnight flight, analysts said the risks are likely to grow in the future.
"In the long run, the law will most likely embolden Beijing and local allies to put greater political pressure on companies and their employees to closely adhere to... Beijing's agenda," William Nee of Amnesty International told Bloomberg.
Analysts have pointed to how firms have been targeted by Beijing on political issues, most notably the backlash last year against Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific over its staff allegedly supporting protesters.
HSBC also faced pressure from a pro-Beijing former Hong Kong chief executive before its show of support for the law, and analysts said companies would be keen to avoid that fate.
"ENORMOUS MARKET"
But Hong Kong's status as a gateway to the riches of mainland China - the world's second-largest economy - is likely to remain the top consideration for investors, analysts said.
The city's equity and property markets have been flooded with mainland billions in recent years.
By the end of 2019, mainland companies made up 73 per cent, or US$3.4 trillion, of the market capitalisation in Hong Kong, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
By the end of 2019, mainland Chinese companies made up 73 percent of the market capitalisation in Hong Kong, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council AFP/Anthony WALLACE
Some of China's biggest state-owned and private companies are listed in the city.
Most recently, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com raised almost US$4 billion last month in what was the world's second-biggest IPO this year.
"I do feel this will add to the complexity of working in Hong Kong or operating out of Hong Kong," Jun Bei Liu of Tribeca Investment Partners told Bloomberg.
"But I think Hong Kong is still very, very relevant and it is the hub to have access to China, which is an enormous market."
SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 188 new COVID-19 infections as of noon on Thursday (Jul 2), including 10 cases in the community, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
This takes the total number of cases in the country to 44,310.
The new cases include 10 new community infections, comprising eight Singaporeans or permanent residents and two work pass holders.
In addition, there is an imported case who had been placed on stay home notice upon arrival in Singapore, MOH said.
The vast majority of Thursday's new cases are work permit holders residing in dormitories, MOH said in its daily preliminary update.
Further details will be announced later in the day, said the ministry.
COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine will not be able to vote in the 2020 General Election, but there will be a special voting hour for Singaporeans serving stay-home notices, the Elections Department (ELD) said on Wednesday.
About 350 people who have COVID-19 or are on a quarantine order will be affected. This is to minimise their contact with members of the public and reduce the risk of community transmission, said ELD.
For voters who are under stay-home notices at home, on medical leave or have a fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius and above, a special voting hour has been set aside for them from 7pm to 8pm.
Four special polling stations have also been gazetted at Marina Bay Sands and one at Marriott South Beach. Voters serving their stay-home notices there will stay in their room and a mobile polling team will bring the ballot box to them.
FOUR IMPORTED CASES ON WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday, Singapore reported four imported cases - two Singaporeans and a permanent resident returning from Pakistan, and a work permit holder who had returned from Indonesia.
The three Singaporeans and permanent resident returned from Pakistan on Jun 19 and Jun 20 and wereplaced on stay-home notices when they arrived in Singapore.
The 39-year-old Indonesian work permit holder was tested upon arrival at Tanjong Pagar Terminal, and was isolated while awaiting his test result, said MOH.
WASHINGTON, DC: A top senator is preparing a Bill to ban Chinese companies from United States capital markets if they engage in spying, human rights abuse or support China's military, threatening a financial blow as tensions mount over COVID-19 and Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong.
Republican Marco Rubio, a prominent China hardliner, said he plans to unveil the legislation in the coming weeks after the US Department of Defence released a list of 20 companies that it alleges are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
"The Chinese Communist Party's exploitation of US capital markets is a clear and ongoing risk to US economic and national security that must be addressed," Rubio said in a statement to Reuters.
"In the coming weeks, I will be introducing legislation to ban these companies from operating in US capital markets and make clear to the Communist Party that they will no longer be able to exploit our financial system," he added.
The Bill will also target companies that support Chinese industrial policy, according to Rubio, who spearheaded successful anti-China initiatives including legislation to sanction Beijing for its repression of Uighur minorities.
The move by Rubio, acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, comes as relations between Washington and Beijing have soured over China's crackdown on Hong Kong via a national security law and the origins of the coronavirus, which has killed over 125,000 Americans.
On Monday, the US began eliminating Hong Kong's special status under US law, halting defence exports and restricting the territory's access to advanced technology as retaliation for the move.
Roger Robinson, a former White House official who supports curbing Chinese access to US investors, said 13 of the 20 companies designated by the Defence Department last week as backed by the Chinese military have a presence in US capital markets.
"The list of PLA (People's Liberation Army)-affiliated Chinese enterprises released by the Pentagon is symptomatic of the broader challenge represented by Chinese companies in our capital markets from an investor protection, national security and human rights perspective," said Robinson, referring to the People's Liberation Army.
China hardliners in Washington have already targeted China's access to US capital markets as a pressure point, succeeding in halting plans by federal pension fund administrators to allow a US$40 billion fund to track an index that includes controversial Chinese companies.
In May, US President Donald Trump tasked a team with studying US-listed Chinese companies to better protect American investors after China's Luckin Coffee, which trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange, said employees fabricated millions in sales.
JAKARTA: East Java has become the largest epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, and experts said the residents' lack of discipline in adhering to social distancing rules is to be blamed for the rise of infections.
On Jun 26, the total infections in East Java surpassed that of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. As of Wednesday, more than 12,000 cases had been recorded in the province, while Jakarta’s figure stood at 11,637.
East Java also had the highest number of deaths which on Wednesday stood at 926. Jakarta's figure is 632.
Mr Windhu Purnomo, a public health expert from East Java’s Airlangga University, noted that the province first saw a significant rise in the number of infections during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in May.
Muslims in Indonesia usually travel back to their hometowns and villages ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday which marks the end of the fasting month, in a tradition known as “mudik”.
“This caused the disease to spread from areas like Jakarta and Bali, particularly as businesses there had to close and many people were laid off,” Mr Purnomo told CNA.
According to data from the provincial government, East Java began to see a significant rise in the number of infections in mid-May.
On May 23, days before Idul Fitri, the number of daily infections in the province spiked to 473. Since then, the number of daily infections in the province ranges between 160 and 400.
Mr Purnomo also said that residents of East Java had been disobeying health protocols.
A worker sprays disinfectant on motorists, to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Surabaya, East Java Province, Indonesia March 22, 2020. Picture taken March 22, 2020. Antara Foto/Zabur Karuru via REUTERS
“You can see it on the streets, in markets and public spaces. People are not wearing masks and not practising social distancing. Meanwhile, the government is only reprimanding the violators instead of a strict sanction,” he said.
“I am not surprised that East Java surpassed Jakarta’s number of infections and became a new epicentre in the country.”
Dr Sutrisno, chairman of the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Doctor’s Association, also said that the East Java government had not been firm in punishing people who ignored health protocols and the government’s social restrictions order.
“The condition is putting a strain in the province’s healthcare system. COVID-19 referral hospitals are becoming overcrowded. New patients are coming non-stop and medical workers are working non-stop too,” he told CNA.
Dr Sutrisno, who like many Indonesians has only one name, added that 76 doctors in East Java had contracted COVID-19 so far, and eight of them have died.
He said East Java is also experiencing a shortage of isolation wards, particularly in capital Surabaya, which contributes half of the total infections in the province.
This shortage, he added, is contributing to the province’s high death toll and slow recovery rate of just 32 per cent, which is lower than the national average of 43.2 per cent.
With more than 57,000 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, Indonesia is the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia.
PLANS TO INCREASE TESTING LABS AND HOSPITAL BEDS: HEALTH OFFICER
East Java’s COVID-19 mitigation chief Dr Joni Wahyuhadi acknowledged a lack of discipline among the people in adhering to health protocols.
“That’s why we have provided 2.5 million masks for free and regularly promote healthy lifestyles through various platforms as well as getting the help of community leaders,” he told CNA.
However, he said it is not surprising that the province has more cases than Jakarta because it has a population of 38 million, compared to Jakarta’s 9.6 million.
“We have also been very aggressive in our contact tracing. We have also been conducting mass testing to screen the population and isolate those who have been infected so that they don’t infect others,” he told CNA.
People on motorcycles wait in line for a test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Surabaya, East Java Province, Indonesia May 28, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Didik Suhartono via REUTERS
But the central government believed that East Java has not performed enough tests considering the size of its population.
The province has a test rate of 1,428 per one million population, which is considerably lower than Jakarta's 21,406 tests per one million population and Bali's 7,151 tests per one million population.
"This means that East Java still needs to conduct more massive testing," Dr Achmad Yurianto, who is the Ministry of Health's director-general for infectious disease, said on Monday.
To step up the province's testing capacities, Dr Wahyuhadi said there are plans to increase the number of testing labs from 17 to 27.
“We are increasing the number of labs capable of performing (COVID-19) tests as well as increasing the number of hospital beds,” he said.
East Java is also planning to convert dormitories to house asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, he said.
“This way, only people with severe symptoms or comorbidity are treated at hospitals.
“We are optimistic that we can suppress the number of infections and have the pandemic under control.”
