Hong Kong Tycoons Pressed on Protests
Beijing Appears Irked by Shortage of Public Opposition by Business Leaders
A woman with a pro-democracy umbrella poses on Tuesday in Hong Kong alongside a cutout of a manipulated photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By KATHY CHU and FIONA LAW
Updated Oct. 28, 2014 10:11 p.m. ET
HONG KONG—Business leaders here are coming under increasing pressure from Beijing to toe the line on protests calling for more democratic elections in the city.
Many in the business community have complained about the disruption from the protests that have shut main thoroughfares for a month. But few of its most powerful tycoons have voiced direct support for the city’s embattled leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
The failure to support Mr. Leung or come out more strongly against the protests appears to have irked Beijing.
A Hong Kong businessman and politician who last week called on Mr. Leung to resign faces a vote on Wednesday on whether his membership in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top advisory body, will be revoked, according to a person familiar with the situation.
James Tien, the head of Hong Kong’s pro-business Liberal Party who also runs his family’s garment business, said Friday that Mr. Leung failed to govern Hong Kong during the protests and should resign. Mr. Tien couldn’t be reached for comment.
The vote on Mr. Tien’s fate comes a few days after China’s official Xinhua News Agency singled out a handful of Hong Kong tycoons for remaining “mute” on the protests and challenged Asia’s wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing , saying he wasn’t being “clear whether or not he agrees with the appeals of the protesters.”
The Xinhua article was published Saturday but was taken down the same day. Later, another Xinhua article appeared online, pointing out that several Hong Kong tycoons, including Mr. Li and others named in the first article, have spoken out against the impact of the protests.
It wasn’t clear why the first article was later unavailable. Xinhua didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A representative for Mr. Li didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A University of Hong Kong poll announced Tuesday showed that Mr. Leung’s popularity has dropped to a record low, presenting a dilemma for tycoons, whose focus on a stable business climate often dovetails with Beijing’s interests, but who have had to tread a fine line to not become targets of protesters’ anger.
Photos: Hong Kong Protesters Call for Democracy
Pro-democracy protesters opened umbrellas for 87 seconds, marking the 87 canisters of tear gas fired by Hong Kong police at student protesters in the same location a month ago.
1 of 28 fullscreen Pro-democracy protesters opened umbrellas for 87 seconds, marking the 87 canisters of tear gas fired by Hong Kong police at student protesters a month ago in the newly dubbed 'Umbrella Square', Admiralty, Hong Kong, Oct. 28 2014. Alex Hofford/European Pressphoto Agency
“Tycoons believe that the nail that stands up will get hammered and that any remarks showing strong opposition to the pro-democracy forces might well elicit protests, harassment and even boycott against their businesses,” said Jerome Cohen, co-director of New York University School of Law’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute.
Denis Wang, a business professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the disappearance of the first Xinhua article could reflect a recognition that singling out tycoons may be counterproductive.
“It isn’t having any effect,” said Mr. Wang. “The tycoons haven't shown any strong opposition to the students. They are voicing very neutral statements.”
Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che-Woo, chair of property and entertainment conglomerate K. Wah Group, was cited by Xinhua as being against the movement. A company spokeswoman said Mr. Lui didn’t give an interview to Xinhua for the Saturday article but he has said he “opposes any activity that has a negative impact on the Hong Kong economy.”
Meanwhile, China’s own newest tycoon, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma , weighed in on the Hong Kong protests from a conference in California on Tuesday, saying he didn’t think they were mainly about the Hong Kong-China relationship, but about young people in Hong Kong having missed out on the wealth created from the city’s business ties with the mainland.
“All the big guys take…the good things and the young people feel hopeless,” Mr. Ma said. “I understand that, but they should not push too much. Both sides should listen.”
Hong Kong businesspeople have long sought to avoid offending Beijing for fear of losing mainland business, but the fight over the direction of democracy in the territory has made it harder to stay neutral, according to interviews with dozens of business people across several sectors.
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“Everyone is worried about their ability to do business with Chinese companies,” said one executive who has long worked in both Hong Kong and China. “The gloves are off.”
Neither the Chinese government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong nor the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in China responded to requests for comment.
Last week, Chinese state media described Hong Kong celebrities who support the protests as “blaming your mother while earning a huge pile of cash” from the mainland. China is a crucial market for Hong Kong entertainers, and restrictions on their ability to work there could severely curtail their income.
Stanley Lau, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, said in recent months Hong Kong and mainland officials have asked business groups to speak up about the impact of the protests on their business.
Most of the group’s 3,000 manufacturer members have been largely unaffected because their factories are on the mainland. Yet the federation has opposed the protests, Mr. Lau said, because if they continue, “investors will consider seriously whether Hong Kong is the best place for business.”
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Kersten Zhang in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Kathy Chu at kathy.chu@wsj.com and Fiona Law at fiona.law@wsj.com
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