In June, China passed a broad anti-sanctions law in response to punishments in the United States and Europe for Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong and its Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.
Its powers include refusing to issue visas, deporting or detaining those who enact or comply with sanctions against Chinese companies or officials.
Foreign companies can be sued in Chinese courts to impose sanctions, or they can use the law against family members.
Earlier this week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam confirmed that the anti-sanctions law will soon be applied to this financial center in some form.
International companies-especially banks-are now scrambling to figure out what this means for them, fearing that they will be caught between competing sanctions regimes.
Julian Ku, an international law expert at Hofstra, said: “If the law is to be taken seriously, if Hong Kong banks must enforce US sanctions and then face prosecution in Hong Kong for enforcing these sanctions, this could be a huge problem. .” The university told AFP.
