Hong Kong Watch Patron introduces bill to audit Hong Kong officials assets in Canada
Today, Hong Kong Watch Patron, Senator Leo Housakos, introduced a Senate public bill in the Canadian Senate which would force the Government to introduce auditing powers to target the Canadian assets of listed individuals and their families, including officials of Hong Kong.
Senator Housakos’s bill would amend the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Canada’s Magnitsky sanctions regime) to allow the Government to audit the assets of Hong Kong officials and their families in Canada.
This follows research by Hong Kong Watch, which found one Hong Kong official and two “patriotic” lawmakers involved in human rights violations in Hong Kong own property in Canada.
Commenting on the Senate public bill, Senator Leo Housakos, said:
“While Canada’s Magnitsky Law has been an essential and meaningful tool in dealing with corrupt regimes and human rights abuses around the world, unfortunately, authoritarianism is on the rise. It’s time we step up our efforts and give government the tools it needs to prevent individuals listed for sanction from evading, through creative accounting of their assets, the full force of those sanctions.”
Hong Kong Watch’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, Sam Goodman, said:
“Our research has found that Hong Kong officials and “patriotic” lawmakers, who decry “western interference” and are presiding over the largest human rights crackdown in Hong Kong’s history, are more than happy to hide their wealth in Canada.
Senator Housakos’s bill will put those officials on notice and empower Canada to work with likeminded democratic partners to audit their assets as a pathway to targeting them under co-ordinated Magnitsky sanctions.”
香港監察贊助人提出法案 推動加拿大政府審查香港官員資產
香港監察贊助人，加拿大參議員 Leo Housakos 於參議院提出了一項公開法案，該法案將迫使政府引入權力，針對審查名單上官員及其家人的加拿大資產，當中包括香港官員。
參議員 Leo Housakos 的法案將修改《外國腐敗官員受害者法案》（加拿大的馬格尼茨基制裁法），允許加拿大政府審計香港官員及其家人在加拿大所持資產。
香港監察於四月底發佈的研究報告發現一名香港官員和兩名有份侵害香港人權的「愛國」立法會議員在加拿大擁有資產。
參議員 Leo Housakos 在評論該參議院公開法案時指：
「雖然加拿大的《馬格尼茨基制裁法》一直是處理世界各地腐敗政權和侵犯人權行為極有意義的重要工具，但不幸的是，獨裁主義正在崛起。我們現在是時候加倍努力，給政府提供所需的工具加強制裁力度，以防止被列入制裁名單的個人通過隱藏資產來逃避制裁。」
香港監察政策及倡議總監 Sam Goodman 指：
「我們的研究發現，有份參與香港歷史上最大的人權鎮壓的香港官員和「愛國」立法會議員一邊譴責西方國家「干涉」其內政，但同時樂於在加拿大隱藏他們的資產。
參議員 Housakos 提出的法案將使加拿大政府注意這些官員，並獲得權力與志同道合的民主國家夥伴合作，審查他們的資產，為實施針對性的馬格尼茨基制裁鋪路。」