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The Hong Kong government has launched a global advertising campaign describing the financial hub as a safe and welcoming place for business. Photo: Handout

After extradition bill withdrawal, Hong Kong launches global ad campaign to reassure investors

  • Full-page ads will appear in selected newspapers around the world stating that Hong Kong remains a safe and open city
  • The government says the time is right to provide a ‘sincere and unvarnished assessment of our position’
The Hong Kong government has launched a global advertising campaign describing the financial hub as a safe and welcoming place for business, a day after announcing the withdrawal of the extradition bill that plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades.
The advertisements are set to appear in selected major newspapers in North America, Europe, Australia and across Asia over the next week to give international readers a “sincere and unvarnished assessment of our position”, a government spokesman said.

The first of the adverts appeared in The Australian Financial Review, a broadsheet aimed at businesspeople and finance professionals, on Thursday.

“We remain a safe, open, welcoming and cosmopolitan society and an internationally connected, vibrant and dynamic economy,” the advert stated. “We will no doubt bounce back. We always do.”

The advertisement also highlighted that the government had started a “cross-sector dialogue to talk through differences and look for common ground”, while remaining “resolutely committed to the ‘one country, two systems’” framework by which Beijing governs the city.

Will extradition bill withdrawal appease or embolden Hong Kong protesters?

The Hong Kong government spokesman declined to say how much the advertising campaign would cost, but the full-page, full-colour advertisement in the AFR was understood to have cost A$20,000 (US$13,600).

The cost of a full-page advertisement can run from about S$30,000 (US$21,600) in Singapore’s Straits Times to 18,000 pounds (US$22,200) in Britain’s The Guardian, and up to US$350,000 in The Wall Street Journal.

The public relations push comes after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday announced she would formally withdraw the extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China, among other jurisdictions. It meant the government had finally acceded to one of the five demands made by protesters, who have been carrying out increasingly violent demonstrations over the past 13 weeks.
A man watches screens showing Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announcing the withdrawal of the extradition bill. Photo: EPA-EFE

Lam also announced the setting up of a panel to examine the underlying cause of the protests, and appoint two new members to the Independent Police Complaints Council tasked with examining alleged police abuses. Pro-democracy figures and protest organisers have lambasted the concessions as too little, too late, though they agree it could make moderate demonstrators reconsider whether the protests should continue.

The advertisement in the AFR emphasised the government’s rejection of the use of violence and acknowledged it would “take time” to resolve the grievances that have polarised society.

“Hong Kong has always been a resilient, resourceful and reasonable society,” the advertisement said. “Our people are our greatest strength and possess the wisdom and wherewithal to handle anything that comes our way. And we will.”

Ryan Ching, an Australian entrepreneur who runs a chain of sandwich shops in Hong Kong, said the unrest had been a concern for him and other business owners, although he had not heard of anyone leaving the city as a result of the turmoil.

“There’s nothing stopping me from continuing on a day-to-day basis. I think the conditions are still quite good, but I guess the protests would put pause to any expansion or investments in Hong Kong,” he said.

Ching welcomed the government’s backdown on the bill but was worried it could be “too little, too late”.

“I sincerely hope that yesterday [Wednesday] was a step in the right direction but there is a long way to go,” he said.

A prominent Hong Kong-based Australian business-person, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, expressed hope the withdrawal of the bill would act as a “circuit breaker”.

“We see that as an important olive branch and a major concession and we welcome that, and we would hope this leads to de-escalation,” said the business-person. “It’s in everyone’s interest that the escalation ends, and that it de-escalates.”

Hong Kong and Australia sign deals to open up bilateral free trade and services

The PR drive in Australia comes as trade unions step up their opposition to a pending free-trade deal between Australia and Hong Kong, citing concerns about police brutality and the erosion of rights such as freedom of speech and assembly in the city.

Representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Tertiary Education Union last week told a parliamentary committee that the trade pact – which was signed in March but has yet to go through parliament – should be shelved as a gesture of solidarity with the anti-government protesters.

“Our position remains unchanged – we support the demand of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions for the Hong Kong government to uphold freedom of assembly and free speech, for the release of arrested protesters, and an independent inquiry into human rights abuses,” said Michael Evans, NTEU national organiser, on Thursday. “Until these demands are met, our position on the FTA is unlikely to change.”

A protester shouts at riot police during a protest at Po Lam MTR station. Photo: Reuters

Simon Henderson, a former official at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the Hong Kong government’s ad campaign appeared to reflect concerns about the trade pact.

Henderson, who now works as a human rights lawyer, said the FTA would likely make it into law but could be amended to address concerns about deteriorating freedoms in Hong Kong.

“While I am supportive of the FTA being passed, I am of the view that passage should be subject to amendments guaranteeing human rights and rule of law protections,” he said.

“In particular, I recommend the inclusion of a human rights clause to ensure greater protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. Such an approach would be both in Australia’s national interest and reflective of Australia’s foreign policy values.”

Additional reporting by Denise Tsang

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