美国当地时间2020年10月14日，美国国务院向美国国会提交了一份认定“影响”中国在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下义务的外国人士的报告（Report: Identification of Foreign Persons Involved in the Erosion of the Obligations of China Under the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law）。该报告作出的依据是美国总统于2020年7月14日签署生效的“《香港自治法案》（Hong Kong Autonomy Act）”第5节(a)款。美国国务院声称报告中认定的10位人士（夏宝龙、张晓明、骆惠宁、林郑月娥、郑若骅、曾国卫、郑雁雄、陈国基、李家超、邓炳强）对中国未能履行其在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下的义务作出贡献。根据《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款，美国财政部可以对在知情（knowingly）的情况下仍与报告中所列人士（其中多名人士为中国中央政府和香港政府的高级官员）开展重大交易（significant transactions）的外国金融机构作出认定，被认定的外国金融机构将可能面临次级制裁。尽管目前尚未有金融机构实际受到制裁，但可以预见，这份报告可能会对某些在中国大陆和香港地区开展业务的金融机构产生重大影响。

同日，美国财政部外国海外资产控制办公室（OFAC）发布了常见问答（Frequently Asked Questions）848-851对相关问题加以进一步解释，包括：与香港政府官员从事交易的禁止事项、被制裁的金融机构如何从报告中被移除或排除、如何解释“重大”、“金融机构”和“知情”。我们把常见问答848-851翻译成中文，供有需要的读者参考。

848. What are the sanctions implications of the Secretary of State’s October 14, 2020 report to Congress pursuant to section 5(a) of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act(HKAA), and subsequent updates of this report, identifying foreign persons that are materially contributing to, have materially contributed to, or attempt to materially contribute to the failure of the Government of China to meet its obligations under the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law?

848. 国务卿在2020年10月14日根据《香港自治法案》第5节(a)款向国会提交的报告以及之后对该报告的更新（报告与更新对正在、已经以及试图为中国政府未能履行其在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下义务作出贡献的外国人士作出认定）会产生哪些制裁影响？

Pursuant to section 5(a) of the HKAA, the Secretary of State submitted a report (“Section 5(a) Report”) on October 14,2020 to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership identifying foreign persons that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, determined are materially contributing to, have materially contributed to, or attempt to materially contribute to the failure of the Government of China to meet its obligations under the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law.  

根据《香港自治法案》第5节(a)款，国务卿于2020年10月14日向国会有关委员会和领导层提交了一份报告（简称“第5节(a)款报告”）。在与财政部长协商后，国务卿在此份报告中对正在、已经以及试图为中国政府未能履行其在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下义务作出贡献的外国人士作出了认定。

Section 6 ofthe HKAA requires blocking sanctions to be imposed on each foreign personidentified in the Section 5(a) Report, or in an update to that report undersection 5(e) of the HKAA.  The individuals identified inthe October 14, 2020 Section 5(a) Report were designated by OFAC on August 7,2020 pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13936, and the property and interests inproperty of those individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked.

《香港自治法案》第6节要求对第5节(a)款报告中、或根据《香港自治法案》第5节(e)款对第5节(a)款报告作出的更新中所认定的每个外国人士实施封锁制裁。事实上，2020年10月14日的第5节(a)款报告中所认定的人士早在2020年8月7日已被OFAC根据13936号行政令加以指定（即被列入“特别指定国民清单”，以下简称SDN清单），这些人士在美国或者其由美国人拥有或控制的财产和财产权益已被冻结。

Further,section 5(b) of the HKAA requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit a report to Congress 30–60days after the Section 5(a) Report is submitted, identifying any foreign financial institution (FFI) that knowingly conducts a significant transaction with a foreign person identified in the Section 5(a) Report.  For the purposes of the report under section 5(b) (“Section 5(b) Report”), the Treasury Department will only identify FFIs that knowingly conduct a significant transaction with aforeign person identified in the Section 5(a) Report or any update to that report following the person’s listing in the Section 5(a) Report.  As a general matter, transactions with persons identified in the Section 5(a) Reportthat constitute a good-faith wind down within 30 days of a person’s identification on such report will not be considered “significant” for purposes of the Section 5(b) Report.  In addition, the Treasury Department will reachout to an FFI to inquire about its conduct before identifying it in a Section5(b) Report.

此外，《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款要求财政部长在与国务卿商议后，于提交第5节(a)款报告后的30至60日内再向国会提交一份报告，对在知情的情况下与第5节(a)款报告中所认定的人士开展重大交易的外国金融机构作出认定。就第5节(b)款报告的目的而言，财政部只负责查明哪些金融机构在知情的情况下仍与第5节(a)款报告或其更新中所认定的人士从事重大交易。一般而言，金融机构与第5节(a)款报告中所认定的人士开展交易，若善意地在对方被指定后的30天过渡期内逐渐减少业务（直至停止），则该交易不会被视为第5节(b)款报告中的“重大”交易。此外，在作出最终认定之前，财政部也会联系外国金融机构以询问有关交易情况。

Pursuant tosection 7(a) of the HKAA, within one year of an FFI’s inclusion in the Section5(b) Report, five out of 10 of the sanctions set out in section 7(b) of the HKAA must be imposed on that FFI.  Not later than two years after an FFI has been included in the Section 5(b) Report, all 10 sanctions set out in section7(b) must be imposed on that FFI.  

根据《香港自治法案》第7节(a)款，在外国金融机构被列入第5节(b)款报告后的一年之内，至少对其实施《香港自治法案》第7节(b)款所载的10项制裁措施中的5项。而在其被列入第5节(b)款报告后的两年之内，必须对该外国金融机构实施第7节(b)款所载的全部10项制裁措施。

Any FFI that knowingly conducts a significant transaction with a foreign person named in theSection 5(a) Report or an update to that report is potentially subject to mandatory secondary sanctions under the HKAA.  Accordingly, with respect to foreign persons in the Section 5(a) Report that also appear on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List), OFAC has updatedthe SDN List to include the language, “Secondary sanctions risk: pursuant to the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 – Public Law 116–149.”

任何外国金融机构若与第5节(a)款报告或对其的更新中所认定的人士从事重大交易，都有可能受到《香港自治法案》下强制性的次级制裁措施。因此，对于既被第5节(a)款报告认定，同时还出现在SDN清单上的外国人士，OFAC特意对清单进行了更新，在这些人士后加上了“次级制裁风险：根据2020年《香港自治法案》”的文字。

849. Cana foreign financial institution (FFI) be excluded or removed from the Section5(b) Report so that sanctions under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) would not apply?

849. 外国金融机构可否从第5节(b)款报告中被排除或移除，从而不受到《香港自治法案》下的制裁措施？

Pursuant tosection 5(d)(2) of the HKAA, an FFI maybe excluded from the Section 5(b) Report or an update to that report under section 5(e) of the HKAA, or may be removed from the Section 5(b) Report or an update to that report prior to the imposition of sanctions under section 7(a),if the significant transaction or transactions of the FFI that merited inclusion in that report:  (A) does not have a significant and lasting negative effect that contravenes the obligations of China under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law; (B) is not likely to be repeated in the future;and (C) has been reversed or otherwise mitigated through positive counter measures taken by that FFI.

根据《香港自治法案》第5节(d)(2)款，外国金融机构的重大交易活动满足以下条件时，在受到第7节(a)款中的制裁措施之前，其可能会从第5节(b)款报告或根据《香港自治法》第5节(e)款对第5节(b)款报告的更新中被排除或移除：（A）不对中国违反其在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下的义务产生重大且持续的不利影响；（B）未来不太可能再次发生；以及（C）交易影响已被该外国金融机构积极采取的反措施所扭转或减轻。

850. Howdoes the Treasury Department determine whether a transaction is “significant”for purposes of section 5(b) of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA)?

850. 财政部如何确定一项交易是否符合《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款下的“重大”要求？

For purposes of implementing section 5(b) of the HKAA, the Secretary of the Treasury may consider the totality of the facts and circumstances when determining whether transactions are “significant.”  As a general matter, the Treasury Department may consider some or all of the following factors in determining whether a transaction is “significant”: (1) the size, number, and frequency of the transaction(s); (2) the nature of the transaction(s); (3) the level of awareness of management and whether the transaction(s) are part of a pattern of conduct; (4) the nexus between the transaction(s) and a foreign person identified in a report submitted by the Secretary of State under section 5(a) of the HKAA or in updates to that report;(5) the impact of the transaction(s) on statutory objectives, including whether the transaction(s) (A) have a significant and lasting negative effect that contravenes the obligations of China under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, (B) are likely to be repeated in the future, and (C) have been reversed or otherwise mitigated through positive countermeasures taken by that FFI; (6)whether the transaction(s) involve deceptive practices; and (7) such other factors that the Secretary of the Treasury deems relevant on a case-by-casebasis.  For purposes of section 5(b) of HKAA, a transaction will not be considered significant if a U.S. person would not require a specific license from OFAC to conduct or participate in the transaction.

为了执行《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款，财政部长在确定交易是否“重大”时，可考虑交易的整个事实情况。一般而言，财政部在确定一项交易是否 “重大”时，可考虑以下某些或全部因素：（1）交易的规模、数量、频率；（2）交易的性质；（3）管理层对该交易的知晓程度，以及该交易是否构成固定行为模式的一部分；（4）交易与第5节(a)款报告或对其更新中所认定的人士之间的关系；（5）交易对实现立法目的的影响，具体包括交易是否（A）对中国违反其在《中英联合声明》或《香港特别行政区基本法》下的义务产生重大且持续的不利影响；（B）在今后可能会再次发生；（C）交易效果已被该外国金融机构积极采取的反措施所扭转或减轻；（6）交易是否存在欺骗性措施；以及（7）财政部根据个案情况认为应予考虑的其他因素。就《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款而言，如果一个美国人不需要向OFAC申请特别许可证即可从事或参与交易，则该交易将不会被视为重大交易。

851. How will the following key terms in section 5(b) of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act(HKAA) be defined: “financial institution” and “knowingly”? 

851. 《香港自治法案》第5节(b)款中的两个关键术语“金融机构”和“知情”应如何被定义？

Section 2 of HKAA defines these terms as follows, which OFAC intends toincorporate into relevant regulations:

《香港自治法案》第2节对这些术语的定义如下，OFAC打算将这些解释纳入相关条例：

“financial institution” – the term “financial institution” is defined to have the same meaning as a financial institution specified in section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code.  

金融机构：术语“金融机构”与美国法典第31编第5312节(a)(2)款中的“金融机构”含义相同。

“knowingly” – the term“knowingly”, with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has actual knowledge of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result.

知情：指行为主体对该行为、情况或结果有实际的了解。