US Hong Kong groups publish joint statement urging finance executives to withdraw from Hong Kong Global Financial Summit

Today, Hong Kong Watch joined the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and the Hong Kong Democracy Council in publishing a joint statement, urging finance executives to withdraw from the Hong Kong Global Financial Summit from 18 to 20 November in Hong Kong.

You can read the full statement here and below.

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Finance Executives Should Withdraw from Hong Kong Global Financial Summit

By attending, they signal tacit support for an authoritarian regime on the same day that democracy leaders face prison sentences for exercising political freedoms. 

Next week, Hong Kong will host its third annual Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, where 68 executives from 54 major global finance firms will share the stage with sanctioned Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other high-ranking officials. On the day the summit opens, 45 of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy leaders will be sentenced for “subversion,” having been convicted simply for seeking to win an election and change government policy. The following day, the trial of jailed business leader and media figure Jimmy Lai will resume on charges of “sedition” and “collusion with foreign forces.” 

We call on these finance executives and their firms to withdraw from this summit. By attending, they risk signaling an endorsement of Hong Kong’s authoritarian regime at a time of heightened global scrutiny. Participation in such an event, especially alongside those responsible for widespread political persecution, contravenes the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as it amounts to active collaboration with human rights abusers. 

Among the scheduled attendees are leading industry figures like David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Jonathan Gray (Blackstone), Marc Rowan (Apollo Global Management), Jane Fraser (Citibank), Ted Pick (Morgan Stanley), Bob Prince (Bridgewater), Harshika Patel (JP Morgan), and Mark Wiedman (BlackRock). We urge them to consider the message their presence would send to the international community and the people of Hong Kong, including their own employees. 

Irrespective of ongoing business interests in the region, participating in a government-hosted event involving sanctioned officials, particularly on days when Hong Kong’s courts will sentence democracy leaders en masse, is unconscionable. These executives can meet in numerous other forums across Asia and beyond without aligning themselves with an authoritarian regime. 

The timing of this summit could not be more troubling. To stand with sanctioned officials while Hong Kong’s democracy leaders are sentenced, and while Jimmy Lai faces a politicized trial, is to tacitly endorse the repression they endure. We therefore call on these executives to take a principled stand and withdraw from the summit.