Accountants Appeal For Advice Over New Security Law

Accountants have expressed concern they could fall foul of the national security law Beijing is to impose on Hong Kong, urging the government to provide guidelines on how they must handle confidential information from mainland firms.

The Accounting Bro-Sis Labour Union, which has around 200 members, says it has collected 1,100 signatures in less than a week opposing the legislation move.

Representatives on Friday submitted their views to the government as well as the lawmaker representing the sector, Kenneth Leung.

The union's vice chairman, Pierre Lau, said people need to be given more information on what the new law will mean for the way they carry out their duties.

"Most of the people are very concerned about whether the law will affect their work or their jobs," he said.

"As an auditor, I am concerned whether we can get confidential documents from China companies which are listed in Hong Kong … if we can't get those documents to complete our work, then we cannot make a true and fair opinion for their annual reports."