ESG, China and Human Rights Event in Washington DC

Hong Kong Watch will co-host an event with the International Republican Institute (IRI) to launch the recently released ESG report ‘‘Passively Supporting Oppression” and discuss the role the private sector and investors play in holding the Beijing and Hong Kong governments accountable for human rights violations.   

Date: 15 June 2022 (Wednesday)

Time: 4pm-6pm EST

Venue: Reagan Events Centre, 1225 Eye St. NW, #800, Washington DC 20005

Panelists:

  • Isaac Stone Fish, Columnist, Founder and CEO of Strategy Risks 

  • Kelley Currie, former US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and the US Representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women  

  • Dennis Kwok, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

  • Sam Goodman, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Hong Kong Watch 

Moderator:

  • Johanna Kao, Asia-Pacific Regional Director, International Republican Institute 

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/esg-china-human-rights-why-the-time-has-come-for-investors-to-act-tickets-354820536777

*There will be live streaming of the event.

About the report:

Hong Kong Watch’s new ESG report, titled “Passively Supporting Oppresion”, will be launched in Washington DC this week. The report has broken down the extensive holdings of US State Pension Funds, institutional investors and endowment funds in firms with ties either to Chinese government activities in Xinjiang or the Chinese military.

The report underlines the breadth of US investment in equities which have “troubling” records, showing that the vast majority of the investment is a result of passive investment strategies which fail to adequately factor human rights considerations into portfolios.

Particular focus is placed on ongoing investment in firms which have been placed on the US Entities List but not the investment ban Executive Order 14032. The executive summary of the report states:

“These firms carry significant ESG risks. Two firms which are widely held by US institutional investors are Zhejiang Dahua Technology and iFlytek. Both of these firms have been accused credibly of being involved in helping to construct the surveillance infrastructure and providing technology for the camps in Xinjiang, China, and therefore investment in these firms could lead to complicity with the Uyghur genocide.”

NewsGuest Userevent, Event