Hong Kong’s dollar tumbles on market jitters about Beijing’s plan to impose national security legislation
- The currency tumbled 0.05 per cent to 7.7539 against the US dollar on Thursday, its weakest level since May 5
- Draft resolution for Hong Kong law to proscribe secessionist and other activities in city to be presented as motion to National People’s Congress on Friday, sources say
The Hong Kong dollar dropped sharply on Thursday as the approach of China’s annual meeting of parliament fuelled market worries that policymakers would push for new legislation to restrict the city’s freedom.
Hong Kong delegates will have their first formal meetings as part of the two sessions with Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Office (HKMAO), and Zhang Qingli, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top advisory body.
A Beijing official told the Post that the agenda for discussion would include the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, and a requirement that the Hong Kong government enact its own national security law, prohibiting acts of “treason, secession, sedition, or subversion”.
Beijing’s push for national security legislation comes against the backdrop of rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and China.