HONG KONG - As Hong Kong seethes with protests against China's rule, Beijing is increasingly pressuring the business world to take its side. Businesses, both global and local, are falling in line - and their employees are caught in the crossfire.
"I think it would have all the CEOs of the major companies looking over their shoulder and wondering whether they will be next to be held accountable for the actions of their employees," he said. China's biggest threat is also its greatest promise: a vast market of 1.4 billion people and an economy that, while slowing, is still growing at a pace that most countries would envy. For global companies like Cathay, lack of access could be devastating.
China provides about a quarter of all foreign investment in Hong Kong directly, and probably much more when money that flows through tax havens like the British Virgin Islands is counted. For years, businesses in Hong Kong have been able to prosper by staying out of politics. But under China's current leader, Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has amassed more power and intruded into more parts of Chinese life, including business. It has also taken an increased interest in Hong Kong affairs since protests in 2014, known as Occupy Central, that also challenged China's policies toward the territory.
Analysts at the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China put a"strong sell" rating on the stock because of what it called"poor crisis management." Last week, property tycoon Peter Woo, the former chairman of the real estate company Wheelock and its subsidiary Wharf Holdings, criticised protests that had turned violent. His comments came after Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of The Global Times, attacked one of Woo's shopping malls for"kowtowing" to the protesters by allowing them to remove the Chinese flag from a flagpole and throw it into the sea.
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