美国会「紧急」去信财政部长耶伦 要求重新评估美国与香港银行关系
2024.11.25
美国众议院「中国共产党问题特别委员会」的两党领导人周一（25日）早上去信财政部长耶伦，呼吁重新评估香港与美国之间在银行系统的特殊关系，称香港正日益成为洗钱和规避制裁的中心，助长破坏美国利益的金融犯罪行为，并形容该问题为「紧急议题」（urgent issue）。
国会：香港如今已成为协助俄罗斯的全球领先者
在致耶伦的信中，众议员穆纳理（John Moolenaar）和克里希纳莫提（Raja Krishnamoorthi）指出，香港如今已成为协助俄罗斯的全球领先者；多家香港注册公司和居民参与了多项非法活动，包括向俄罗斯进口被禁止的西方技术、设立空壳公司购买禁运的伊朗石油、促进俄罗斯黄金的贸易，以及管理与北韩进行非法交易的「幽灵船」，因此遭到美国财政部制裁。
近期研究显示，2023年从香港运往俄罗斯的货物中，近40%属于美国和欧盟列为「共同高优先级项目」的清单，其中包括半导体及其他俄罗斯在乌克兰战争中急需的技术。
公开信说： 「香港已从一个受信任的全球金融中心，转变为中国、伊朗、俄罗斯及北韩之间日益加深的威权联盟中的关键角色。我们现在必须质疑，美国对香港长期以来的政策，特别是针对其金融和银行业的政策，是否仍然适当。」
委员会表示，鉴于这些日益严重的问题，要求美国财政部官员向委员会简报，说明美国与香港银行间的运作关系，美国政策如何因应香港地位变化进行调整，并要阐述财政部应对这些风险的措施。信中特别提到，美国国会希望了解财政部将如何进一步通过香港金融体系，打击不断升级的洗钱和逃避制裁行为。
上周香港法院就47人案作出判刑，在同一时间，在香港政府主办的国际金融领袖投资峰会上，多位全球金融界领袖出席，包括高盛董事长戴维·所罗门（David Solomon）、花旗集团首席执行官范洁恩（Jane Fraser）和道富集团首席执行官罗纳德·欧汉利（Ronald O’Hanley）。此外，滙丰银行、法国巴黎银行等机构的高层代表也参加了此次峰会。参加者并未在峰会的讨论环节中公开提及相关法院诉讼。
国会点名批评李家超对美国的敌视态度
另外，公开信又提到，自1997年以来，美国根据《美港政策法》对香港提供特殊待遇，使其享有与中国内地不同的地位。然而，自2019年民主活动遭镇压后，香港被中国政府全面控制，并对司法独立及公民自由设定了新的限制，进一步削弱了香港的自治权。同时，香港行政长官李家超对美国制裁的批评态度，例如他说过美方的行为是「野蛮」、「在我本人来说是嗤之以鼻」，委员会认为，李家超这些回应进一步削弱了外界对香港银行监管及反洗钱规则的信任。
部分香港银行仍未达美国监管要求
据美籍律师贝祺森（Samuel Bickett）所知，部分香港银行正配合美国财政部遵守制裁命令，但并非所有银行都达到要求，所以他认为，公开信的主要目的是促使国会立法，确保美国各行政部门拥有足够资源来有效执行制裁令。
贝祺森说：「这是国会议员、委员会以及包括我所合作的倡导组织在内，持续努力的一部分，目的是推动解决方案，弥补在香港及其他地区执行制裁上的重大漏洞。美国在制裁执行方面的力度确实不足，我所指的不仅是漏掉了一些规避制裁的公司。香港、中国及其他地区绝大多数规避制裁的公司和个人都未被追查到，执行制裁的资源也远远不足。」
美国国内要求重新审视香港特殊金融与贸易地位的呼声日益高涨。上周四（21日），美国财政部决定对俄罗斯的「天然气工业银行」（Gazprombank）及其六家海外子公司，包括位于香港的GPB Financial Services Hong Kong Limited，实施制裁。美国财政部表示，俄罗斯政府利用「天然气工业银行」购买军事物资以支援对乌克兰的战争，并透过该银行支付军人薪资，包括战斗奖金和对在俄乌战争中阵亡的士兵家属提供赔偿。
上星期美国国会下属的「美中经济与安全审查委员会」（U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission，简称USCC）发布年度报告，首次明确建议国会取消中国自2001年加入世界贸易组织（WTO）以来享有的「永久正常贸易关系」（PNTR）。报告指出，中国未履行开放市场和促进公平竞争的承诺，提出多项可能彻底改变美中经济与技术竞争格局的政策建议。
编辑：温晓平
「中国共产党问题特别委员会」去信财政部长耶伦全文：
Dear Secretary Yellen,
We are writing to express our deep concern regarding Hong Kong’s increasing role as a financial hub for money laundering, sanctions evasion, and other illicit financial activities. In the wake of the National Security Law of 2020, which subjected Hong Kong to the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hong Kong has shifted from a trusted global financial center to a critical player in the deepening authoritarian axis of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Iran, Russia, and North Korea. We must now question whether longstanding U.S. policy towards Hong Kong, particularly towards its financial and banking sector, is appropriate.
The United States has long afforded preferential treatment under the law to Hong Kong. Upon Hong Kong’s return to the PRC in 1997, the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act specified special status to treat Hong Kong separately from Mainland China for matters concerning trade export and economic control. This law allowed the United States to continue to fulfill its obligations to Hong Kong under international agreements regardless of PRC participation, with provisions that such status may be revoked were Hong Kong’s autonomy from the PRC to be degraded. While this policy was adhered to in the initial decades following Hong Kong’s handover, posture began to shift following the crackdown on pro- democracy protests beginning in 2019.
This shift was catalyzed following the CCP’s July 2020 imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law, that effectively subjects Hong Kong to PRC control. PRC authorities can now act with near impunity in Hong Kong, setting new standards on civil liberties, legal proceedings, and judicial powers. The Beijing-controlled Hong Kong Legislative Council further expanded government and CCP control with the 2024 passage of Article 23, which grants new powers to investigate and prosecute vaguely defined offenses such as external interference and the endangerment of national security with punishment of up to life in prison.1
In response to these actions, the Secretary of State of both the current and former U.S. administration have declared, as outlined in the Hong Kong Policy Act, that Hong Kong lacks the promised degree of autonomy to justify treatment separate from that of the PRC.2 These declarations have been further coupled with a slew of new U.S. policy. The Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 directs the imposition of
sanctions on officials and entities in Hong Kong and the PRC that are deemed to be violating Hong Kong’s autonomy, with explicit reference to financial institutions doing business with these persons or entities. Likewise, Executive Order 13936 gives the Departments of Treasury and State the authority to sanction foreign persons who threaten or undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, the revocation of Hong Kong’s licenses under the Export Administration Regulations that are not available to the PRC, and the provision that Hong Kong be treated that same as the PRC by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ annual reporting.
Related to these developments, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, the city’s top public official, stated in 2022 that the threat of U.S. sanctions is a “barbaric act,” with “no legal basis,” and the Hong Kong government’s position is to “laugh off the so-called sanctions.”3 Statements and actions such as these may severely undermine confidence in Hong Kong’s banking regulations and know-your-customer (KYC) rules, which were once considered reliable. The heightened risk of sanction evasion and potential abuse of the financial system underscore the need for greater scrutiny and diligence.
Your department has taken preliminary action against entities based in Hong Kong, where the city has now become a global leader in practices such as importing and re-exporting banned Western technology to Russia, creating front companies for purchasing barred Iranian oil, facilitating the trade of Russian- sourced gold, and managing "ghost ships" that engage in illegal trade with North Korea.4 Recent research revealed, for example, that nearly 40 percent of goods shipped from Hong Kong to Russia in 2023 were on the US and EU list of ‘common high priority items’—semiconductors and other technology that Russia most needs for its war in Ukraine.5
Given these escalating concerns, we request that the appropriate U.S. Treasury Department official brief the Select Committee on the current status of American banking relationships with Hong Kong banks, how our 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 these risks. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how the Treasury intends to further combat the facilitation of money laundering and sanctions evasion through Hong Kong's financial system.
Your leadership in this matter is crucial for safeguarding our financial system and upholding the integrity of international banking practices. We look forward to your response and any insights you can provide regarding the Treasury’s strategies and actions related to this urgent issue.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
John Moolenaar
Chairman
House Select Committee on the CCP
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Ranking Member
House Select Committee on the CCP
