Hong Kong Watch launches business and human rights report in London

Yesterday evening, Hong Kong Watch continued our series of launch events for our new report on the state of business and human rights in Hong Kong with a launch event in the Houses of Parliament in London. The report, Risky Business: how sanctioned entities access capital via Hong Kong, was previously launched in Washington, DC on 11 June at the Hudson Institute.

This event was hosted by Blair McDougall MP, Patron of Hong Kong Watch and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong, and featured a panel discussion with Carmen Lau, Hong Kong activist and Senior International Advocacy Associate at the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC); Lara Strangways, Senior Legal Adviser leading the Business and Human Rights team at Global Rights Compliance; and Thomas Benson, Senior Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch and author of the new report.

Blair McDougall MP introduced the panellists and offered his reflections on his recent advocacy trips to Washington, DC and the challenges to sanctions policy posed by a volatile geopolitical environment. Thomas Benson introduced the report and its findings, outlining how the Beijing government has encouraged corporate entities from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including those implicated in human rights violations, to publicly list in Hong Kong to bypass Western due diligence standards and access international equity markets.

Carmen Lau commented on the broader risks to businesses within Hong Kong posed by the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law and 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also known as Article 23 legislation. Lara Strangways highlighted the compliance risks to companies arising from counter-sanctions and foreign espionage laws within the PRC, and the deficiencies in the UK’s current human rights due diligence requirements.

The panel concluded with a call to the UK government to introduce new human rights due diligence standards to ensure that UK investors are prevented from investing in companies implicated in human rights abuse.

香港監察在英國國會發布商業與人權報告 強調政府需收緊人權盡職審查規定

昨晚，香港監察繼續展開巡迴報告發布會，在倫敦英國國會發布最新商業與人權報告。報告題為《Risky Business: how sanctioned entities access capital via Hong Kong》，早前於6月11日在美國華盛頓哈德遜研究所（Hudson Institute）發布。

活動由香港監察贊助人、英國國會跨黨派香港小組主席麥道國議員（Blair McDougall MP）主持，並由下列講者展開專題討論：香港社運人士、香港民主委員會高級國際倡議幹事劉珈汶（Carmen Lau）；Global Rights Compliance資深法律顧問兼商業與人權主管Lara Strangways；以及香港監察資深研究及政策顧問、報告作者湯柏森（Thomas Benson）。

麥道國議員首先介紹各位講者，然後分享對自己最近到訪華盛頓倡議的反思，以及動蕩的地緣政治局勢對制裁政策帶來的挑戰。湯柏森介紹報告及其發現，講述北京政府如何推動中國企業實體（包括涉嫌侵犯人權的企業）在香港上市，藉以繞過西方盡職審查標準並進入國際股票市場。

劉珈汶談到香港2020年《國家安全法》和2024年《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）對香港企業構成的更廣泛風險。Lara Strangways強調中國《反外國制裁法》和《反間諜法》對企業帶來的合規風險，以及英國現行人權盡職審查規定的不足之處。

討論最後呼籲英國政府推行新的人權盡職審查標準，以防英國投資者投資涉嫌侵犯人權的公司。