U.S. and Hong Kong (2009)

U.S. Department of State

Country Reports on Terrorism 2008

Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Country Reports on Terrorism 2008
April 30, 2009

Chapter 2. Country Reports: East Asia and Pacific Overview

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China

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong's position as a major transit point for cargo, finances, and people and its open trade and financial regime made it a potential site for money laundering and terrorist financing activities. The high level of cooperation and the successful implementation of the Container Security Initiative (CSI) by Hong Kong Customs officials received continued praise from visiting USG delegations, which described it as a model for CSI implementation. The Hong Kong government extended the Strategic Freight Initiative (SFI) pilot project, originally scheduled to run through April 2008 for an additional year.

Hong Kong law enforcement agencies provided full support and cooperation to their overseas counterparts in tracing financial transactions suspected of being linked to terrorist activities.

Hong Kong actively participated in various anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing initiatives, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering. Hong Kong is a member of the Egmont Group, reporting through its Joint Financial Intelligence Unit (JFIU), operated by Hong Kong Police and the Customs and Excise Department. The results of Hong Kong's 2007 FATF and APG mutual evaluation were announced in June 2008. In response to recommendations in the report, Hong Kong authorities are expected to propose legislation to increase supervision of money changers and remittance agents, but have made no plans to establish reporting requirements for cross-border currency movements.

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• Country Reports on Terrorism 2008