A senior Hong Kong financial regulator and a pro-establishment lawmaker withdrew from the Bitcoin Asia conference after receiving unofficial advice to avoid appearing alongside Eric Trump, according to reports by the South China Morning Post and Bloomberg. Eric Yip Chee-hang, an executive director at the Securities and Futures Commission, and Legislative Council member Johnny Ng Kit-chong were removed from the speaker line-up shortly before the two-day event opened on 28 August at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The organisers retained Eric Trump as the headline speaker. Addressing delegates on 29 August, the son of U.S. President Donald Trump told the audience that the Trump family “loves” and “believes in” Bitcoin, predicted the token would climb to a price of $1 million and described China as “a hell of a power” in cryptocurrency despite Beijing’s 2021 trading ban. The withdrawals highlight the political sensitivities surrounding Hong Kong’s engagement with U.S. officials and their families during Donald Trump’s second term.