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Hong Kong extradition bill
Hong KongHong Kong economy

Extradition bill protests will hit Hong Kong economy as it reels from US-China trade war, Financial Secretary Paul Chan says

  • City is already facing its slowest economic growth in two years due to trade conflict, weak retail volume and commodities exports
  • Continued downturn could cause rise in unemployment, he says

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan says Hong Kong “now appears unstable” to foreign businesses and tourists. Photo: Dickson Lee
Zoe Low
Hong Kong’s anti-extradition protests will further compound its economic troubles and tarnish its business environment, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his blog on Sunday.
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Chan’s comments came a day after police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray against anti-government protesters in the northern town of Yuen Long. The latest rally was prompted by an indiscriminate attack on protesters and passers-by by an armed mob in the area last weekend that left at least 45 people injured.

“I am sure everyone understands that the longer the protests stretch on, the effect on small and medium businesses will become more obvious and the livelihoods of some groups of citizens will be impacted,” Chan wrote in his blog post titled “Internal and external troubles”.

He continued: “To foreign businesses and tourists, Hong Kong now appears unstable, which has affected their interest in coming to Hong Kong for leisure, business and investments.”

Protests against the now-shelved extradition bill have continued unabated in Hong Kong for the last two months. Photo: Felix Wong
Protests against the now-shelved extradition bill have continued unabated in Hong Kong for the last two months. Photo: Felix Wong
Protests against the now-shelved extradition bill – which would allow the transfer of criminal suspects to jurisdictions including mainland China, where critics say there is no guarantee of a fair trial – have continued unabated for seven weeks.
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Another protest is set to take place on Sunday afternoon in the Central and Western districts despite police asking organisers to limit it to a rally.

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