Welcome to Hong Kong…
We found one thing that brings folks together more than Game of Thrones
Where we found one thing that brings folks together more than Game of Thrones: protesting a law that'd allow the extradition of suspects to mainland China for trial.
Set the scene: This weekend, organizers said over 1 million people (almost one in seven Hong Kong residents) protested the extradition legislation, which critics say could be used to a) abuse targeted dissidents and b) expose Hong Kong to the mainland's "more opaque" legal system.
Under a 1997 agreement that gave sovereignty of Hong Kong back to China from Britain, the city got a separate (more transparent, more independent) legal system.
That independence has turned Hong Kong's free market economy into a hub for international business, where the value of goods and services traded is about 4x GDP.
But now…some in the business world (including the American Chamber of Commerce) are concerned a legal crackdown could threaten Hong Kong's reputation in international finance. The government says they're wrong, but Wall Street will be watching closely—the legislation could be passed within a few weeks.