When a nation openly seeks to recruit spies to steal another country’s secrets, the target state cannot afford to look away. In the latest episode of this ongoing contest, the United States has taken center stage.
On May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States released two new videos, publicly appealing to Chinese citizens to collaborate with the agency and engage in espionage against their own government. The videos mark a strikingly public approach to intelligence recruitment – a move that doubles as psychological warfare.
Last year, the CIA had already published an instructional video in Chinese, teaching Chinese nationals how to use the dark web to contact the agency securely. An anonymous US official puts it, as quoted by The New York Times, the CIA would not have produced the latest videos if the earlier attempt had not yielded results.
John Ratcliffe, newly appointed as CIA director by Donald Trump, has made clear that China is now the agency’s top priority. In a message to CIA personnel last month, Ratcliffe underscored the urgency of rebuilding the agency’s human intelligence network in China, emphasizing the need to recruit Chinese officials to obtain state secrets.
Hong Kong in the Crosshairs
It would be a mistake to assume that these developments have little bearing on Hong Kong. The city remains a focal point for US intelligence-gathering efforts against China. The Hong Kong government has been drafting supplementary regulations to implement the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance for some time. In the face of mounting challenges from the United States and other Western powers, early enactment of such regulations is a matter of prudence.
The new subsidiary legislation under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance recently introduced by the government include provisions allowing the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS) to designate official premises and prohibit unauthorized disclosure of the office’s investigative work.
Existing Powers Clarified
After the announcement of the new regulations, some online commentators questioned whether this signalled an expansion of the OSNS’s powers. In reality, these authorities already exist; the new rules simply clarify their scope and procedures. Article 55 of the National Security Law stipulates that the OSNS may exercise jurisdiction in serious cases, including those involving foreign interference or when the SAR faces genuine difficulties in enforcement. The office’s authority to take over such cases has always existed and has not been expanded. Given the CIA’s public campaign to recruit Chinese spies, it would be naïve to assume that such scenarios will never arise.
The subsidiary legislation also sets out operational details. Civil servants are required to provide all necessary and reasonable assistance to the OSNS in a timely manner. Any individual must comply with legal instruments issued by the OSNS under Article 57 of the National Security Law; failing to comply, providing false information, or disclosing details of OSNS investigations all constitute criminal offenses. Deliberately obstructing the OSNS, impersonating its personnel, or forging its documents are also criminal acts. These provisions mirror similar offenses in existing Hong Kong law, simply making clear that OSNS personnel receive the same legal protections as other officials when performing their duties. In short, the regulations clarify the scope of authority – not expand it.
Enhancing Protections, Not Restrictions
When the OSNS exercises its duties in Hong Kong, the relevant legal procedures, the scope of protected work, and the obligations of other government agencies to assist must all be clearly defined by subsidiary legislation. Critics often view such regulations as restrictions on the public, but this is a misreading. For example, after the regulations took effect, the SAR government designated six locations, including the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, as restricted zones. Some have claimed these “forbidden zones” are close to residential areas and wondered whether one could even speak to people coming out of these places, fearing they might inadvertently break the law. Such concerns are exaggerated.
Designating OSNS offices as prohibited areas is no different from the military barracks found in urban districts, which are also clearly marked as off-limits. There are schools and residential buildings near the Kowloon Tong barracks, yet daily life is unaffected. Ordinary residents do not wander into such places; clear signage simply serves as a reminder not to trespass. This does not increase the risk of legal trouble for citizens – unauthorized entry was already illegal. In fact, the new rules enhance protection by reducing the chance of accidental trespass due to ignorance. Any sensible person should understand: unless you are answering the CIA’s recruitment call, you have no business entering OSNS offices.
The new national security regulations have no impact on law-abiding citizens, but they strike directly at foreign spies. By explicitly criminalizing acts related to the OSNS’s exercise of its powers, foreign agents caught red-handed can no longer exploit legal loopholes by claiming that OSNS personnel are not protected by local law or that they can openly defy authorities.
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
At the arrival of 2026, the happiest thing is to see the "Hong Kong is dead" narrative—proclaimed so loudly by Western voices—die yet again.
Foreign Money Returns Home
The West has written Hong Kong's obituary more times than you can count. They believed the city's return to China should have been its death sentence. American magazine Fortune declared "The Death of Hong Kong" on its 1995 cover—two years before the handover even happened. Hong Kong survived the Asian financial turmoil in the early post-handover years. It survived SARS. Then came 2019's Black Riots, followed by US sanctions on Hong Kong officials in 2020 and the pandemic's hammer blow. Foreign capital fled in an American-orchestrated exodus, with much of it landing in Singapore.
Last February, Stephen Roach—Yale University senior fellow—wrote in the UK's Financial Times with a headline that said it all: "It pains me to say Hong Kong is over." Foreign investors don't just track economic growth when they assess Hong Kong. They watch the stock market. And over the past year, Hong Kong's miraculous stock market comeback has bankrupted the "Hong Kong is dead" theory.
Hong Kong's economy grew an estimated 3.2% in 2025—ranking it among the developed world's top performers. But the stock market performance was getting really interesting. Average daily turnover in the first 11 months hit HK$230.7 billion—a massive 43% jump compared to 2024's same period.
Record-Breaking Fundraising Wins
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange crushed it in 2025. A total of 119 new listings raised HK$285.8 billion—a staggering 220% year-on-year increase and the highest since 2021. According to KPMG's report, HKEX ranked first globally in fundraising. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq tied for second place. Looking ahead, HKEX's fundraising is estimated to reach HK$300-350 billion in 2026, keeping it among the world's top exchanges.
Sure, Mainland capital is investing in Hong Kong. But foreign capital's return has been the real game-changer behind the stock market's strong performance. According to fund industry insiders, what we're seeing now is only wave one—primarily hedge funds and other medium-to-short-term players. As Hong Kong's trading volumes swell and quality Mainland companies list here, the long-term foreign funds will gradually return. The outlook for Hong Kong stocks continues to look favorable.
America's narrative said Hong Kong's National Security Law would scare capital away. Reality proved exactly the opposite. Hong Kong's stable environment gave Chinese companies the confidence to list here. America's targeting of Chinese concept stocks listed on its exchanges was self-destruction—forcing quality Chinese companies to turn to Hong Kong for listing instead. This made Hong Kong's stock market bigger and stronger, compelling even bearish foreign capital to come back.
Beijing's Seal of Approval
President Xi's remarks when meeting Chief Executive John Lee during his duty visit to Beijing in mid-December reveal what work the central government values in Hong Kong. President Xi opened with praise for the Chief Executive's courage and initiative in leading the SAR government. He highlighted four key achievements: steadfast maintenance of national security, successful Legislative Council elections, proactive integration into national development, and achieving steady economic growth.
President Xi's assessment underscores Beijing's high recognition of Hong Kong's ability to do both—safeguard national security and develop the economy simultaneously. Some Hong Kong people believed that having transitioned "from chaos to governance and then to prosperity," the city should set aside national security to focus on economic development. Reality proved this view wrong. Hong Kong must strike a balance between these seemingly contradictory goals and advance on both fronts at once.
Look at Hong Kong's development over the past five years. The city emerged from Black Riots and the pandemic in 2021, achieving a strong rebound from the bottom in 2023. The return to normalcy brought revenge spending that temporarily elevated market sentiment.
But entering 2024, local consumption patterns underwent structural changes. Hong Kong people shopping across the border diverted local retail spending. The strong Hong Kong dollar—tracking the US dollar—and high interest rates suppressed economic activity, leading to structural adjustment.
By the second half of 2025, Hong Kong entered a phase of moderate recovery. The property market began stabilizing after its decline. With the US starting rate cuts in September, capital supply loosened. Hong Kong can continue along this recovery path in 2026—that's the estimate anyway.
Despite the optimism, Hong Kong people must keep working hard. The many vacant shops you see on the streets tell the story—retail economy pressure remains real. In 2024, Hong Kong's total retail sales value of HK$376.8 billion represented a 7.3% year-on-year decline. That's painful for the retail sector.
Retail's Reversal Ahead
Through October 2025, retail sales values remained comparable to the previous year. But consumption began recovering in the second half—retail sales value rose 3.8% in August, 6% in September, and 6.9% in October. 2025 showed an early decline followed by growth, with accelerating consumption momentum. Retail consumption is expected to reverse its decline in 2026.
During this retail transformation, we Hong Kong people must continue their efforts. Old businesses will still be eliminated—that's inevitable. Strategic adjustments are required. New opportunities must be pursued.
Bottom line: Hong Kong's economic performance in 2025 proves once again that the "Hong Kong is dead" theory dies—one more time. Hong Kong has weathered different shocks repeatedly in the past, emerging reborn each time like a phoenix from the ashes.
Lo Wing Hung
