On March 7, the Atlantic Council, an American think tank, published a report on Hong Kong’s business environment titled “Fractured foundations: Assessing risks to Hong Kong’s business environment,” criticizing the “National Security Law (NSL)” for changing Hong Kong’s political and legal landscape and increasing the risk to foreign capital in doing business in Hong Kong. It recommended that companies should weigh between business opportunities and risks and formulate contingency plans.
The report pointed out that the most fundamental change in Hong Kong in the past three years has been the shift from a legal system based on the Basic Law and English common law to a system governed primarily by political norms enhanced by the NSL. The new law establishes another system of powers running parallel to Hong Kong’s traditional institutions, allowing interference in those jurisdictions on matters of national security and potentially conflicting provisions of the Basic Law.
