Owners and executives of large Hong Kong companies must choose between their own employees and China! And peace is still a mirage …
The Hong Kong Crisis
Hong Kong-based companies face a dilemma. On the one hand, many of their employees, like a large part of the population, support anti-government protests. On the other, China, where Hong Kong protests are already being compared to terrorism, is their most important market.
Therefore, some began calling for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
But while demonstrations and clashes with the police continue, the business suffers losses.
Mass protests in Hong Kong began on June 9 and were originally directed against a bill to extradite suspects to mainland China. Then many companies publicly supported the right of their employees to participate in protests, and some even allowed them to take time off for this, writes The Wall Street Journal. But the Hong Kong authorities clearly did not withdraw the bill, and the protests grew into a pro-democracy movement and clashes with the police. This began worrying employers, and under pressure from China, they began to change their position. And now each company in Hong Kong has found itself in a difficult situation…
Companies’ Reaction
The first in a difficult situation was the main Hong Kong air carrier Cathay Pacific. The company forbade participation in demonstrations after China’s aviation regulators in early August demanded that all protest-supporting employees be removed from flights to the mainland. But the employees found ways to continue to express their position! So, leaving the flight, a masked stewardess walked through the Hong Kong Airport with a poster to the cheers of protesters gathered there. The airline threatened “disciplinary consequences” to employees involved in “illegal protests. Cathay has already fired at least five people, including two pilots, writes WSJ. Its CEO Rupert Hogg resigned in mid-August, taking responsibility for the situation. According to Cathay, the demonstrations did not affect her business in July. But due to the drop in tourist flow and the number of business trips, these actions can negatively affect the results of the company in the coming months by the end of the year.
Calls for Peace
In early August, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the PRC State Council for Hong Kong and Macau, met with representatives of the Hong Kong elite in Shenzhen. He warned that Beijing is ready to intervene if the situation worsens. After that, the Hong Kong tycoons and financial institutions operating in the city publicly condemned the riots. Hong Kong’s richest man, Lee Ka-Shin, and the British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered, advertised in local newspapers calling for a peaceful solution.
A Blow on Hong Kong’s Business and Future
And the protests began to affect the city’s economy and threaten its status as a global financial center. In the II quarter, GDP fell by 0.4% compared to the previous quarter. Protests have negatively impacted tourism and consumer demand, and companies are forced to reschedule or cancel conferences.
The situation in Hong Kong is already seriously affecting the entire Chinese economy, which has already been experiencing its worst period since 1992 because of the trade war with the United States. Complicating the situation is that this time Hong Kong cannot count on China economically, and Hong Kong almost has half of China’s trade turnover.
Since the end of June, the total market capitalization of companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has fallen by about $300 billion, WSJ notes. Small and medium-sized business owners are torn between politics and the economy. There is virtually no right course for these companies. They are torn between their own employees and the future of their business, strongly tied to China.
The most endangered and victims
But, undoubtedly, the most endangered and affected are Hong Kong regular citizens participating in the protests. Large companies would get better in one or another way. They have already demonstrated that can change their position according to the current situation. Big company employees risk not only their jobs. But they risk their own future and that of their families. The central Chinese government in Beijing is adamant that the protesters are “terrorists” who must bear the full rigor of the law.
At the start of the protests, British banks and major Hong Kong companies said they were firmly behind their employees. But as the crisis escalates, their position changes under pressure from China. Some companies have even started firing protest activists.
What is the salvation for Hong Kong citizens?
In several articles, we have already mentioned the dual citizenship option, which can guarantee the democratic future of Hong Kong residents and their families. And the most obvious goal of dual citizenship for Hong Kong people is to acquire British citizenship. But recently the protesters and activists of the former British colony that during the protests bore the British flag, suffered a severe blow in the back namely by the British government.
Declassified documents have revealed that UK’s officials have put pressure on Portugal not to grant citizenship to residents of Macao in order to prevent Hongkongers from asking similar treatment. After these facts became known, activists from HK pointed out how “disgraceful” Britain had been in its treatment of the HK’s citizens prior to its handover to China. A statement, not without a reason, we would add.
It was revealed from the documents that the UK home secretary Douglas Hurd had urged his colleagues to persuade the Portuguese government to tighten its criteria for granting Portuguese citizenship to Macao residents. In a letter to the foreign secretary G. Howe, Hurd alarmed that any Macao residents who obtained Portuguese passport would be able to reside and work in Britain, or any part of the EU. This has been obviously a very distressful thought for the UK government.
At the same time, following the recent changes to the EB-5, the US procedure for obtaining citizenship by investment(CIP) has become even more expensive and difficult to access.
The Best Solution
But there is a solution and it is called European citizenship. There are 3 countries in Europe (Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria) offering citizenship by investment (CIP). It is also the fastest achievable and can include the entire applicant`s family. For large companies, banks and investors in Hong Kong, this is a real way to fully protect their employees. By providing them with dual citizenship under the Citizenship by Investment Program.
It should be stressed that this is not about paying large sums in the coffers of these countries, but about making a legitimate investment in their economies. Investment in the European Union. The procedure is tantamount to a low-risk business operation. In this sense, the program of Bulgaria provides the most serious opportunities for investors and applicants. The country has a booming real estate market, a highly developed tourism industry and a secure political future. Investing in Bulgarian government bonds has proven to pay high dividends to investors. These are some of the investment opportunities in the Bulgarian citizenship program. If you would like to find out what the other options are, the time limits for obtaining citizenship, and to get acquainted with the Bulgarian CIP (in Mandarin) in detail, please visit: 快速入籍保加利亚
The obtaining of Bulgarian citizenship is equivalent to full European citizenship.
Attention! Read this material before you take the next step: http://blog.bulgarian-citizenship.org/citizenship-scams-in-hong-kong/