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跨国银行正在打压支持民主运动的富人 【中英对照翻译】

新闻来源:《路透社 Reuters》;作者:Sumeet Chatterjee, James Pomfret, Greg Torode;发布时间:2020年7月20日

翻译/简评:Cathy R;校对:Julia Win;审核:海阔天空 ;Page:椰子哦耶

简评:

中共的《香港国安法》通过以后,寒蝉效应立即显现。一些大的跨国银行闻风而动,为了保护其在港利益,开始对支持民主运动的人士进行审查,这可能会让支持民主运动的人士变得处境异常艰难。这些以金钱和利益为出发点的跨国银行的所作所为,一定会受到正义的清算。

原文:

Exclusive: Global banks scrutinize their Hong Kong clients for pro-democracy ties

独家:跨国银行正在审查其香港客户是否与香港的民主运动有联系

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Global wealth managers are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city’s pro-democracy movement, in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China’s new national security law, according to six people with knowledge of the matter.

路透香港——据六位知情人士透露,全球财富管理机构正在审查其在香港的客户是否与该市的民主运动有关联,以避免陷入中共国新国家安全法的漩涡。

Bankers at Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), Julius Baer Gruppe AG (BAER.S) and UBS Group AG (UBSG.S), among others, are broadening scrutiny under their programs that screen clients for political and government ties and subjecting them to additional diligence requirements, these people said.

这些知情人士透露,瑞士信贷集团(CSGN.S),汇丰控股有限公司(HSBA.L),瑞士宝盛集团(BAER.S)和瑞银集团(UBSG.S)等银行的银行家们,在筛选客户的政治和政府关系的项目时,正在扩大审查范围,并要求他们接受额外的严格评估。

The designation, called politically exposed persons, can make it more difficult or altogether prevent people from accessing banking services, depending on what the bank finds about the person’s source of wealth or financial transactions.

“政治公众人物”(political exposed person)的称号,可能会使人们更难或完全无法获得银行服务,这取决于银行对这些人财富来源或金融交易来源的调查结果。

The checks at some wealth managers have involved combing through comments made by clients and their associates in public and in media, and social media posts in the recent past, these people said. The new law prohibits what Beijing describes broadly as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison for offenders.

这些人士说,一些财富管理人的检查涉及梳理客户及其同事在公开场合和媒体上发表的评论,以及最近在社交媒体上发布的帖子。新的法律禁止北京广义上的分裂、颠覆、恐怖主义和与外国势力勾结的行为,违法者最高可判处终身监禁。

The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the broadened scrutiny of clients also applied to Hong Kong and Chinese officials who had implemented the law in anticipation of any U.S. sanctions against them.

由于形势的敏感性,消息人士要求匿名。他们说,对客户的广泛审查也适用于香港和中国内地的官员,这些官员是为了应对美国对他们的制裁而实施这项法律的。

One banker at a global wealth manager that holds more than $200 billion in assets said the audit of its clients could go back as far as 2014 in some cases to gauge a client’s political stance since Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy “umbrella” movement. Protesters at the time used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray deployed by police.

一家持有逾2,000亿美元资产的全球财富管理公司的一位银行家表示,对客户的审计在某些情况下可能会追溯到2014年,以衡量客户自2014年香港民主的“雨伞”运动以来的政治立场。当时,抗议者使用雨伞来抵挡警方部署的催泪瓦斯和胡椒喷雾。

Reuters could not learn the identities of any people who had faced enhanced scrutiny or whether the banks had decided to take any action against people identified as politically exposed.

路透社无法得知任何受到加强审查的人的身份,也无法得知这些银行是否决定对被认定为政治公众人物的人采取任何行动。

Albert Ho, a veteran Hong Kong democrat who runs a law firm and helps organise an annual candlelight vigil to commemorate victims of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, said he feared that people like him may face “difficulties in the times to come.”

香港资深民主人士何俊仁(Albert Ho)经营着一家律师事务所,并帮助组织一年一度的烛光守夜活动,以纪念1989年6月4日天安门广场镇压事件的受害者。他说,他担心像他这样的人可能会面临“未来的困难。”

“There’s not much you can do, actually, unless you cease all your financial and banking activities in Hong Kong,” Ho said, adding he had not faced additional scrutiny from his bank as of last week. He declined to disclose the name of his bank.

何俊仁说:“实际上,你能做的不多,除非你停止在香港的所有金融和银行业务。”他补充说,截至上周,他尚未受到其所在银行的额外审查。他拒绝透露他的银行名称。

HSBC declined to comment specifically on the security law or any U.S. move to sanction local officials. In an emailed statement, it said, “We already have a stringent set of policies and rigorous processes in place which we apply globally.”

汇丰银行拒绝就国安法或美国制裁当地官员的任何举措发表具体评论。在一份电子邮件声明中,该公司表示:“我们已经制定了一套严格的政策和严格的流程,并在全球范围内实施。”

Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and UBS declined to comment.

瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)、瑞士宝盛(Julius Baer)和瑞银(UBS)拒绝置评。

When asked about the scrutiny after it announced its half-year results on Monday, Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher also declined to comment, adding the bank would continue to develop its business in Hong Kong.

在周一公布半年业绩后,当被问及有关审查的问题时,瑞士宝盛银行首席执行官菲利普·里肯巴赫(Philipp Rickenbacher)也拒绝置评,并称该行将继续在香港发展业务。

In an emailed statement, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the financial hub implements anti-money laundering requirements “based on international standards including with regard to politically exposed persons.”

香港金融管理局(Hong Kong Monetary Authority)在一份电子邮件声明中表示,该金融中心实施了“基于国际标准,包括针对政治公众人物的标准”的反洗钱要求。

FILE PHOTO: A Star Ferry boat crosses Victoria Harbour in front of a skyline of buildings during sunset, as a meeting on national security legislation takes place in Hong Kong, China June 29, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 档案照片:在建筑物的天际线前面,一艘天星渡船在日落时穿过维多利亚港,一次关于国家安全法的会议正于2020年6月29日在中共国香港举行。 路透/苏太龙/档案照片

“The relevant international standards and our guidance to the banking industry have not changed,” the city’s de facto central bank said.

“相关的国际标准和我们对银行业的指导意见都没有改变,”香港事实上的中央银行说。

China’s foreign ministry, the Liaison Office in Hong Kong and the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to requests for comment.

中共国外交部、香港联络办公室(中联办)和国务院港澳事务办公室没有回应置评请求。

BANKS IN FOCUS

重点银行

Global banks have long examined the backgrounds of their clients, including screening them for political ties, to satisfy regulatory requirements. Politicians, government officials and senior executives at state-owned enterprises, as well as their family members, are typically considered politically exposed persons.

长期以来,跨国银行一直在审查其客户的背景,包括筛选他们的政治关系,以满足监管要求。政治家、政府官员、国有企业的高级管理人员以及他们的家庭成员通常被视为政治敏感人物。

The rules are meant to enforce laws such as international sanctions and to prevent people from using the banking system to launder ill-gotten wealth.

这些规则旨在执行诸如国际制裁之类的法律,并防止人们利用银行系统洗黑钱。

The banks’ move to subject supporters of Hong Kong’s democracy movement to a similar review comes at a time when the stance of some firms on the Chinese law has drawn scrutiny from Western lawmakers and activists.

这些银行对香港民主运动的支持者进行类似的审查的举动,正值一些公司对中共国法律的立场引起西方立法者和活动人士的审视之际。

HSBC and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.L), which have expressed support of the national security law, for example, have faced criticism from UK officials that their actions enabled Beijing to undermine the rule of law in the former British colony.

例如,曾表示支持《国家安全法》汇丰银行(HSBC)和渣打银行(STAN.L)受到英国官员的批评,认为他们的行为使北京破坏了前英国殖民地的法治。

The two London-headquartered banks have said they believed the law would restore stability in Hong Kong.

总部设在伦敦的两家银行表示,他们相信这部法律将恢复香港的稳定。

Both Hong Kong and Chinese officials have said the law was vital to plug holes in national security defences, rejecting criticism from governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, that China was violating its promise to safeguard Hong Kong’s freedom for 50 years after the 1997 handover.

香港和中共国官员都表示,这部法律对于填补国家安全防御漏洞至关重要。他们拒绝接受包括美国和英国在内的各国政府的批评,即认为中共国违反了1997年回归后保障香港50年自由的承诺。

REGULATORY RISKS

监管风险

Some wealth managers in Hong Kong say they are worried about the regulatory and reputation risks to their banks if charges under the sweeping security law are brought against some of their politically linked clients, three of the sources said.

三位消息人士表示,香港的一些财富管理人士表示,他们担心,如果根据包罗万象的国安法对一些与政治有关的客户提出指控,他们的银行将面临监管和声誉风险。

A top executive at a regional wealth manager said that his firm’s risk and compliance team prepared a list of top 10 Hong Kong individuals identified in local media as pro-democracy sympathisers within a couple of days of the enactment of the law on July 1, the anniversary of the handover.

一家区域财富管理公司的高级主管说,其公司的风险与合规团队在7月1日回归纪念日立法后的几天内,准备了一份被当地媒体认定的前十位亲民主派人士名单。

The executive said their firm checked its internal database to see if they had existing relationship with any of them and were “quite relieved” to see that they didn’t.

这位高管说,他们公司检查了内部数据库,以确定他们是否与其中任何一家公司存在联系,结果“颇为欣慰”,他们没有。

Several elements of the law deal with the seizure of assets, including provisions to give a new police unit greater powers to freeze and confiscate funds and property as well as greater powers to obtain information.

该法律的若干内容涉及没收资产,包括赋予新的警察部门更大的权力来冻结和没收资金和财产,以及更大的获取信息的权力。

Companies can also face penalties, ranging from fines and suspension to the loss of business licenses.

公司也可能面临罚款、停业整顿、吊销营业执照等处罚。

One investment manager at a Hong Kong-based hedge fund said he expected more people to come under scrutiny from their bankers now. “I think that if even a moderate democrat came through the door wanting to invest, you’d be thinking long and hard after this law,” the fund manager said.

香港一家对冲基金的一位投资经理说,他预计现在会有更多的人受到银行家的审查。 这个基金经理说:“我认为,即使是一个温和派的民主党人进门来想投资,在这部法律出台之后,你也会认真考虑很久。”

编辑:【喜马拉雅战鹰团】