SINGAPORE - Businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, 59, has been served notice that the authorities intend to designate him as a politically significant person under Singapore’s foreign interference laws.

This is as Mr Chan, a naturalised Singapore citizen, has been assessed to have shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors, and willingness to advance their interests, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Feb 2.

The notice means the Hong Kong-born businessman is the first person to be dealt with under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica), a law that empowers the authorities here to deal with foreign interference in domestic politics.

In a statement, MHA said it has been assessed that his activities “are directed towards a political end in Singapore, and that it is in the public interest for countermeasures under Fica to be applied to Chan”.

As a designated politically significant person, Mr Chan would have to make annual disclosures to the authorities of political donations of $10,000 or more that he has received and accepted, and declare his foreign affiliations and any migration benefits.

“These transparency requirements would help to detect and prevent any foreign interference directed towards a political end in Singapore,” said MHA, without naming any country.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Chan said he had just received the notice on Feb 2 and would respond to it next week.

ST reported in May 2023 that Mr Chan, the managing director of several real estate investment firms, was invited to attend China’s annual Two Sessions parliamentary meetings in March 2023 as an “overseas Chinese representative”.

He was one of 30 such representatives from around the world invited by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body to the Chinese government.

Their publicised activities included a briefing by Chinese officials on issues such as the easing of visa restrictions, and a meeting with CPPCC secretary-general Wang Dongfeng.

Fica was passed in Parliament on Oct 4, 2021, after a 10-hour debate. It aims to tackle foreign meddling in domestic politics, both through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.

A person can be designated as a politically significant person if his activities are directed towards a political end and the competent authority, the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures, assesses that it is in the public interest for countermeasures against foreign interference to be applied.

Designated politically significant persons need to disclose political donations and foreign affiliations. However, they can be issued stepped-up countermeasures if there is a higher risk of foreign interference.

These include prohibitions on receiving anonymous or foreign donations, which are already imposed on defined politically significant persons – a category that includes MPs, political parties and political office holders.

In a March 6 interview with Chinese media during the Two Sessions, Mr Chan said it is the duty of overseas Chinese communities to “tell China’s story well”, and called for an alliance between overseas Chinese in various countries to coordinate ways to do so.

“If you want to have a future, you must stand with the country that represents the future. China is the country that represents the future,” he told Chinese Headline New Media (Huaren Toutiao).

The People’s Association said Mr Chan was a patron of Kampong Chai Chee Citizens’ Consultative Committee and the Bukit Timah Community Club management committee. He has stepped down from all grassroots appointments.

In October 2019, Mr Chan facilitated a public assembly discussing the Hong Kong protests without a permit and was issued a warning by the police.

The gathering was held at Kimoto Gastro Bar – which Mr Chan was reported to have owned at the time – located at The Sail@ Marina Bay. Participants were seen chanting in support of the Hong Kong police in a video of the event.

The Oct 11 gathering came at a time when Hong Kong was rocked by increasingly violent protests sparked by an extradition Bill.

Mr Chan is the president of Kowloon Club, which helps new Chinese immigrants to Singapore. He is also the president of the Hong Kong Singapore Business Association.

He is “an altruistic philanthropist”, according to a write-up on SPD, a local charity that serves those with disabilities.

Mr Chan, who sits on one of SPD’s committees, is listed in the article as the managing director of property firms Wen Way Investments, Mutual Benefits Realty and C&H Properties.

Mr Chan has 14 days from Feb 2 to submit representations to the registrar. If he is designated, he can appeal to Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam against the registrar’s decision.