HK General Chamber Of Commerce Welcomes Security Law

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the national security law, saying that its passing is "instrumental in helping to restore stability and certainty to Hong Kong".

In a statement published on Wednesday, the HKGCC said that last year's anti-government protests had "damaged the reputation of Hong Kong as a safe, international city", which resulted in a loss in tourism and business for the SAR.

The group said that the city suffered more amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and that a stable environment is needed to help the economy return to normality.

The statement goes on to say: "Many jurisdictions also have similar national security laws in place, so operating in such an environment should not be unusual for international businesses. With now the introduction of NSL, we hope that law and order can be upheld and that stability returns to Hong Kong."

Liberal Party lawmaker Felix Chung said some in the business sector see the legislation as beneficial to Hong Kong, but that they needed to wait for the international reaction to the law.

"Of course Hong Kong is an international city, any sanctions that is going to be imposed to Hong Kong will certainly affect the business sector, but we’ll just have to wait and see," he said.

"But overall for the domestic business sector, they feel that this will stabilize Hong Kong and calm the whole society."

An adjunct associate professor from the Chinese University's Department of Finance, Hugh Thomas, said he's also positive about the new law's impact on Hong Kong's international status and economy.

"Certainly the central government wants us to continue to be an international financial centre, I would be very surprised if there’ll be an attempt to attack the financial structure of Hong Kong.