US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused China’s Communist leadership of bullying HSBC into allegedly maintaining bank accounts for sanctioned officials while closing ones for those “seeking freedom”.
Mr Pompeo said the US was “dismayed” to learn that London-listed HSBC, Europe’s largest lender, was taking these actions and accused China of continuing to “bully our British friends and their corporate leaders”.
HSBC has been at the centre of a political storm ever since it backed a Hong Kong security law that has drawn condemnation from human rights campaigners and pro-democracy activists around the world.
Mr Pompeo has previously warned that China’s “browbeating” of HSBC was a “cautionary tale”. On Wednesday he hit out at the bank following reports that executives at pro-democracy publisher Next Digital were unable to access their personal HSBC accounts or credit cards. The company publishes Apple Daily and Next Magazine, two of the city’s most popular publications.
Mr Pompeo added: “Only a few months ago, HSBC’s Asia-Pacific CEO signed a petition supporting Beijing’s decision to crush Hong Kong’s autonomy and its people’s freedoms. Free nations must ensure that corporate interests are not suborned by the CCP to aid its political repression.”
Shares in Next Digital soared earlier this month after pro-democracy sympathisers flocked to support its founder Jimmy Lai following his arrest under the controversial law.
Mr Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, was arrested along with other executives and his two sons, the highest-profile detentions since the law was imposed by Beijing’s Communist rulers in June.
Hong Kong police said they had been arrested on suspicion of “colluding with foreign powers”, fueling fresh fears that Hong Kong was becoming a police state.