Bill Penalising China-Linked Banks Passes US Senate

In an uncommon display of bipartisan unity, both House of Representatives and the Senate have unanimously passed an invoice calling for penalties to become levied against Chinese officials and associates who assistance to violate Hong Kong's autonomy. The bill also calls for sanctions against banking institutions that do business with folks who have took part in crackdowns from the city.

It is not yet clear how wide-ranging the sanctions against banking institutions is going to be, or which firms is going to be targeted included in the action. Representatives for banks including Citigroup and Bank of America were among those holding calls on Friday to discuss the potential impact of the legislation, based on reports.

Nick Turner, an attorney at Steptoe and Johnson in Hong Kong specialising in sanctions and anti-money-laundering, commented in the news. “Financial institutions are worried concerning the legislation principally due to uncertainty about how exactly the sanctions will be used,” he explained, noting particular uncertainty over what might constitute using the services of individuals undermining Hong Kong's autonomy, as well as which individuals would probably be named as such.

Though Hong Kong has been governed by China within “one country, two systems” model since the UK paid charge of the town in 1997. However, China's introduction of a sweeping new security law on Tuesday that criminalises acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion, the facts which were kept a secret until after the law was passed.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab criticised HSBC and other banks on Wednesday for backing the brand new law. “The rights and the freedoms and our responsibilities within this country to the people of Hong Kong should not be sacrificed around the altar of bankers' bonuses,” he said.