Robert Besser
22 May 2023, 22:22 GMT+10
HONG KONG: Some Hong Kong-based staff with U.S. consultancy Mintz Group have left China, fearing future arrests as China expands it anti-espionage laws.
The Beijing office of Mintz Group was raided by Chinese police in March, who confiscated documents.
During the raid on the Mintz office, five mainland Chinese staffers were detained by police, including the head of Mintz's Beijing office.
Chinese authorities are continuing an investigation into Mintz, as well as U.S. management consultancy Bain and Co and mainland consultancy Capvision Partners.
Such tactics have sent a chill through companies that deal with China, with many unsure of the future of working in China.
Earlier, companies operating in Hong Kong had to learn how to navigate the new national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020.
It remains unknown whether those executives of western companies that have fled China will return when there is a clearer understanding of the new rules.
It is believed that Mintz came under police surveillance after the company undertook preparing a report on the use of forced labor in China's Xinjiang province.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that employees of other consultancies have said that Chinese officials warned them not to report on the use of forced labor throughout the country.
Reuters further reported that the Mintz office in Hong Kong has been closed.
Following the police raiding Mintz's Beijing office in late March, the company closed its office, after releasing a statement that it was ready to work with the Chinese authorities to "resolve any misunderstanding that may have led to these events."
In recent years, the U.S. has warned its citizens working in Hong Kong of he greater risks of arrest, detention, expulsion or prosecution by Chinese authorities.
China's sensitivity about the reporting of its use of forced labor follows the U.S. publishing a list of companies it is sanctioning for using forced labour in Xinjiang. The US has also enacted laws that ensure that goods coming from China were not manufactured using forced labor.
Get a daily dose of Paris Guardian news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Paris Guardian.
More InformationDHAKA, Bangladesh - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 13 members of Grameen Telecom's board of directors, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
FREMONT, California: Brain implant company Neuralink announced that it has received approval from US regulators to begin human brain implant ...
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana: Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has pleaded guilty to more ...
DENVER, COLORADO: A federal judge has ruled that a rural Colorado school district can ban a high school student from ...
BURBANK, California: Over the US Memorial Day weekend, Disney's live-action remake of its 1989 animated classic, "The Little Mermaid," brought ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Nielsen company said that CBS has again claimed the title of most-watched television network ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global stocks tumbled Wednesday as lawmakers continued to navigate their way through Congress ...
PORTLAND, Maine: Fishermen in the US's only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels, called elvers, have recorded a productive ...
LAS VEGAS, Nevada: A bill was introduced in the Nevada Legislature to provide the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to one of the tightest labor markets in decades, teenagers, who have been vital for filling summer ...