updates<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Protesters hold placards featuring images of Chief Executive Carrie Lam inside a Pacific Coffee store, June 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Photographer: Paul Yeung\/Bloomberg<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
These perceived outposts of President Xi Jinping\u2019s government expanded their operations after the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, adding heft to Beijing\u2019s political goal of integrating the semi-autonomous territory with the motherland. Their deepening presence stokes fears among protesters that Hong Kong soon will become just another Chinese city, deprived of the autonomy former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping guaranteed until 2047.<\/p>\n
\u201cMainland Chinese companies are forming a group of entities which can be both economically and politically influential,\u201d said Heidi Wang-Kaeding, who\u2019s done research on mainland investment in Hong Kong and now teaches international relations at\u00a0Keele University\u00a0in Staffordshire, England. \u201cThat\u2019s why this is shaking the local interest very much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong Kong police said Monday a radio-controlled improvised explosive device was\u00a0detonated\u00a0near a police car on Sunday evening, the first time the use of such a device has been reported during months of unrest.<\/p>\n
The use of explosives marks a significant escalation in pro-democracy protests that started out peacefully in June, with hundreds of thousands of residents marching in the streets in opposition to a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.<\/p>\n\n
In recent weeks, protesters have set fires near police stations, hurled makeshift petrol bombs at riot police, and bashed in glass kiosks at train stations and storefronts tied to mainland Chinese businesses.<\/p>\n
As Chinese Communist Party leaders focus on solidifying control over the rebellious city, companies taking direction from the state likely will play an even bigger role in Hong Kong\u2019s $363 billion economy. The city\u00a0is sinking into a recession\u00a0after the riots, and Lam, the chief executive, may propose remedies during her annual policy address Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In the past decade, the total amount of loans given by the Hong Kong-based unit of state-owned Bank of China in the special administrative region has more than doubled to $175 billion, and so have deposits to $257 billion.<\/p>\n
China Mobile, the world\u2019s largest wireless carrier by subscribers, is among the four operators in the city, having cemented its position since buying a local provider more than a decade ago to gain entry into the market.<\/p>\n
Mainland-based developers such as\u00a0Poly Property Group Co.\u00a0and\u00a0China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd.\u00a0successfully bid for 11% of the land for sale last year in the world\u2019s most-expensive real estate market, compared with about 5% in 2013. They bought almost 60% of residential land sold by the local government in the first six months of this year.<\/p>\n
A vandalized China Mobile Ltd. store in Causeway Bay on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n
In one high-profile deal, state-owned Poly Property and\u00a0China Resources Land Ltd.\u00a0successfully bid HK$12.9 billion ($1.6 billion) in June for a 9,500-square-meter parcel at Kai Tak, the former airport in the Kowloon district.<\/p>\n
Beijing-based\u00a0Citic Ltd., a state-owned conglomerate, is part of a consortium that runs McDonald\u2019s outlets in the city, and unit\u00a0Dah Chong Hong Holdings\u00a0operates car dealerships and Food Mart stores.<\/p>\n
With forays into retail, telecommunications and property development, mainland-based companies are also altering the city\u2019s traditional business landscape. Homegrown tycoons such as Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau Kee, who built their empires by forging close ties with authorities in Beijing, may see that influence erode. Li, for instance, saw the writing on the wall some time ago and has been steadily reducing exposure to his home base.<\/p>\n
Over time, the economic balance of power will tilt more in favor of state enterprises and away from the local billionaires, said Michael Tien, a pro-Beijing member of Hong Kong\u2019s legislature and a deputy to China\u2019s National People\u2019s Congress.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt will be very difficult for Hong Kong Chinese companies to fight mainland Chinese companies,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are capital-rich and powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it isn\u2019t just state-owned companies that are building a bigger presence in Hong Kong. In 2015, billionaire Jack Ma\u2019s e-commerce giant\u00a0Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.\u00a0agreed to buy the South China Morning Post newspaper and related assets for HK$2.06 billion. Prominent Chinese smart-phone makers such as Huawei,\u00a0Lenovo,\u00a0Xiaomi\u00a0and electronics retailer Suning have retail stores in the city.<\/p>\n
Mainland-based companies with consumer-facing businesses have been particular targets in the latest phase of the four-month-long protests, which were sparked by opposition to a proposed law allowing extraditions to China.<\/p>\n
Bank of China branches and ATMs have been firebombed and vandalized, including this past weekend and on the Oct. 1 anniversary of Communist Party rule in the mainland. Huawei and Lenovo stores also were ransacked during the weekend at a mall in suburban Sha Tin.<\/p>\n
At least two China Mobile stores were attacked Oct. 1 and 2, and a Xiaomi outlet had anti-China graffiti spray-painted on its walls. The local unit of\u00a0China Construction Bank, which has more than 50 locations, suspended service at two branches because of protest-related damage, including smashed glass doors.<\/p>\n
At least one local-run business has lost its immunity.\u00a0Maxim\u2019s Caterers Ltd., which operates bakeries and some\u00a0Starbucks\u00a0outlets, is seeing stores vandalized after the founder\u2019s daughter called the protests \u201criots\u201d and supported the Hong Kong government in comments at the U.N. Human Rights Council last month.<\/p>\n
Maxim\u2019s tried to\u00a0distance itself\u00a0from the comments and a spokeswoman said the group has never taken any political stance. Representatives for China Resources, Citic, the local units of Bank of China and China Construction Bank didn\u2019t respond to requests seeking comments, while one for China Mobile said the carrier is focusing on resuming services at the damaged stores.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cAnything with a star on it is vulnerable,\u201d Gavin Greenwood, an analyst with A2 Global Risk, a Hong Kong-based political-risk consultancy, said of mainland-affiliated businesses. He was referring to the Chinese flag. \u201cThey are extremely soft targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
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The black-clad protesters pushing back against China\u2019s influence in Hong Kong aren\u2019t just focusing on Carrie Lam and the police. They\u2019re also targeting mainland-based brands such as\u00a0Bank of China Ltd.,\u00a0China Mobile Ltd.\u00a0and\u00a0Huawei Technologies Co.\u00a0with fire bombs, metal bars and spray paint. A walk down the primary route used by Hong Kong\u2019s anti-government marchers shows how …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[3958,3902],"yoast_head":"\n
Hong Kong Protesters Rage Against Corporate China's Growing Control - TheFastFashion.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=62406\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hong Kong Protesters Rage Against Corporate China's Growing Control - TheFastFashion.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The black-clad protesters pushing back against China\u2019s influence in Hong Kong aren\u2019t just focusing on Carrie Lam and the police. They\u2019re also targeting mainland-based brands such as\u00a0Bank of China Ltd.,\u00a0China Mobile Ltd.\u00a0and\u00a0Huawei Technologies Co.\u00a0with fire bombs, metal bars and spray paint. 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