The implementation of Article 23, a strict security law, over the weekend has further heightened the existing worries.
Critics fear it would stifle any criticism with its closed-door trials and life sentences for widely defined offenses, from treason to insurrection. Authorities believe it will defend the city and maintain stability.
According to Mr. Chan, a real estate surveyor who wished to remain anonymous, it comes at a time when Beijing’s tight grip and US-China tensions are already turning away international investors, who now have a “anywhere but China” attitude.
“Hong Kong was seen as distinct from China so investors could still invest here – not anymore now,” according to him.
Article 23 and succeeding
The focus on national security and the threat of “foreign forces”—a recurring motif in the laws and recent directives from Beijing—raises the stakes for foreign investment and companies doing business in the city.
Mr. Tse, who works for a Chinese state-owned bank, claims that “the business has been awful in the past two years and there was no major deal at all.” In June, he claimed, his company let go of 10% of its employees, and this past week, another 5%. “No one knows when it will be their turn.”
