China hawks stick beaks into HK's financial status

In their open letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week, John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi, respectively chairman and ranking member of a House select committee on China, urged Yellen to rethink ties with Hong Kong's banking sector, alleging that the special administrative region has become a top location for money laundering, sanctions evasion and other illicit financial activities, although they did not provide any convincing evidence to support these allegations.

They vehemently attacked the Hong Kong national security law that came into force in July 2020 as a political tool that effectively subjects Hong Kong to Beijing's control, and demanded that the Treasury Department brief the select committee on the current status of the relationships between US and Hong Kong banks, how US policies have shifted to account for the changes in Hong Kong's status and posture, and the measures the Treasury plans to implement to address the risks.

The two US congressmen, along with the hawkish committee they sit on, are known for their Cold War mentality and their view of Sino-US relations as a zero-sum game. Their intent is to defame Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center and discredit the practice of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.