Recent reports claim that two Hong Kong officials have withdrawn from the upcoming Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference to allegedly avoid interacting with Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump.
The report noted that Yip, executive director of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and Ng, a legislator and technology entrepreneur, were removed from the list of keynote speakers for the conference.
According to the report, archived versions of Bitcoin Asia 2025’s website show that both officials were listed on July 14, days after the announcement of Eric Trump’s participation in the forum.
A Source familiar with the matter told SCMP that the lawmakers were requested not to attend the conference, as it featured Trump’s middle son. A second anonymous source confirmed the information, explaining that it was “advised” to the lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Ng stated that he withdrew from the event due to “family issues” that overlap with Bitcoin Asia 2025’s agenda, while the SFC affirmed that Yip would not be in attendance due to a business trip.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, told the news media outlet that the reason was to “avoid any public impression that Hong Kong was cooperating with or flattering Donald Trump.”
“Under the intense China-US relations, it is only natural to avoid any impression that Hong Kong is doing something that is helping or pleasing the US,” Lau detailed.
It’s worth noting that President Trump recently announced a 90-day trade tariff war truce with China, but has threatened that the nation could face “200 per cent tariffs, or something,” if it doesn’t continue to ensure shipments of permanent magnets containing certain minerals reach the US.
A source close to the city’s regulators reportedly said that officials had been advised to “maintain a low profile on cryptocurrency and stablecoins,” the report affirmed, but noted that Clarence Shen, an SFC manager responsible for fintech policy formulation, will still attend as one of the event’s speakers.
The warning comes as the financial regulator attempts to implement its phased plan to ensure balanced growth and innovation, with regulation and customer protections.
