How do people feel about HSBC supporting China's new Hong Kong national security law?

London7766551

It has come to my attention that HSBC has publicly backed the new Chinese national security law in Hong Kong. The law from what I understand, means anyone who opposes China in Hong Kong, would be breaking this new law. This is at odds with the agreement that was made in the past with the UK. (I understand it made provisions for a national law at some point, but not to this meaning) Even mocking the national anthem would be illegal. I find it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth that HSBC is supporting this, considering it is based in the UK, and while the UK government and I suspect most HSBC UK customers  (mainly because this law is against the British way of life) would not support this act. 

h t t p s ://www.ft.com/content/213c0e2c-f1c7-4637-a0b9-4c3f72709d52
HSBC has openly supported the national security law China is imposing on Hong Kong, breaking the bank’s silence on the legislation opposed by the UK government. Following similar moves by Swire and Jardine Matheson, two British colonial-era trading houses, the bank signalled its favourable public position on the laws in a carefully worded post on Chinese social media platform WeChat. It said that Peter Wong, chief executive of the lender’s Asian businesses, had signed a petition in support of the laws. The post said: “We reiterate that we respect and support laws and regulations that will enable Hong Kong to recover and rebuild the economy and, at the same time, maintain the principle of ‘one country two systems’.” HSBC confirmed the contents of the post and declined to comment further.

I was just curious to hear other people's feelings about it. I am considering closing my accounts with the bank, but wonder if I am in a minority and most people don't really care? 

Speculator

Standard Chartered too. 
Liverpool need to get a new shirt sponser.

gc747

I bank with them, always have done. Although I side with HongKong in this awful dispute I’m afraid it wouldn’t make me change my account. 

There is too much going on in the world above our control and even if most UK customers closed their accounts I still think HSBC would stick with their decision. 

As a side note, aside from all the unsettlement in HongKong/China, I believe that HSBC is very anti brexit and depending upon how we leave I think HSBC could well turn their back on the UK altogether.. 

anyway, that’s just my very humble opinion.. great question though, OP 👍

Speculator

Had a HK$ HSBC account but closed it last summer when I returned to Hong Kong.
Doubt many Brits will close their accounts over this.
In Hong Kong, most of their account holders are elderly and keep their life savings in accounts earning 0.001% because there is no alternative. I am sure most of these are "Blue" or don't care so they will keep their accounts.

Thrugelmir

Requires walking a fine line. Impossible to do business without approval from the Peoples Party.
Likewise Apple, to name just one, that manufactures in China because it's cheap to do so. 

There's lots of flag waving which is insincere when one digs deeper. 

atlantis187

Same as the hundreds of companies who side with India over the Kasmir issue. Revoking previous agreements without a care in the world.

spingoblin

Britain should never have occupied that part of China in the first place, it was never a democracy when Britain ruled it and for some reason we only introduced very limited local autonomy in the final years leading up to the handover in 1997. Up until those 'democratic' reforms were introduced by us we ruled Hong Kong with an iron fist from London with a 'yes man' Governor appointed by the UK govt. We wouldn't like it if China ruled an enclave of southern England and I doubt we would have tolerated a treaty with them allowing it for over a hundred years - and in any case if we did we would have marched in and taken it over by force long before that hundred years was up!
I have zero issues with HSBC and Standard Chartered protecting their privilaged financial interests in the territory. I also have no problems allowing the Hong Kong people a chance to come back here to their (Don't laugh back there) 'mother country' if any of them want to.

London7766551

spingoblin said:

Britain should never have occupied that part of China in the first place, it was never a democracy when Britain ruled it and for some reason we only introduced very limited local autonomy in the final years leading up to the handover in 1997. Up until those 'democratic' reforms were introduced by us we ruled Hong Kong with an iron fist from London with a 'yes man' Governor appointed by the UK govt. We wouldn't like it if China ruled an enclave of southern England and I doubt we would have tolerated a treaty with them allowing it for over a hundred years - and in any case if we did we would have marched in and taken it over by force long before that hundred years was up!
I have zero issues with HSBC and Standard Chartered protecting their privilaged financial interests in the territory. I also have no problems allowing the Hong Kong people a chance to come back here to their (Don't laugh back there) 'mother country' if any of them want to.

But we did, and we also had responsibility for many of these people who still live there today. And if China did rule in such a way as you describe, I doubt when we took it back over, we would make it illegal to mock the national anthem. But these points are neither here nor there. The main issue is that HSBC is based in the UK, and the UK government has the official position to oppose this new law (which has actually just been passed). HSBC are making mugs of us and we shouldn't stand for it. HSBC should !!!!!! off and leave the UK if they make most of their profit in Asia and care little for the UK arm, in my opinion. 

Edit: apparently the word b u g g * r is now allowed. 

wmb194

I couldn’t care less. China is an authoritarian, nominally communist state. You either toe the line or get your assets expropriated in one way or another. Hopefully in the future China will change but both HSBC, Standard Chartered and the companies that went into forming them as we know them today have seen centuries of change and laws that we’d now consider repulsive or unfair come and go. If feel you feel so strongly about this you should boycott anything made in China and every business that has any dealings there. Good luck.

jasdev

Getting in before this dissolves into a quagmire of politics.

I switched my bank account this morning. I have been as happy as can be banking with first direct, their customer service has always been top notch. However, I explained to them that it was this that has led me to switch after nearly a decade.

To slightly respond to some of the comments above, yes, there is a lot going on in the world and yes, being 100% ethical is near-enough impossible. And of course, HSBC will likely not miss me.
But then that misses the point. To be ethical, baby steps are good. Do what you can. Recycle to the extent that you can, and don't make it painful on yourself. I boycott Amazon, Uber, and now HSBC, but that does not mean I must boycott every single organisation worldwide that is unethical in some way.

gsmh

When it comes to money the majority of people seem to have little concern for ethics and if they gained financially they would stay with a bank regardless. I have seen forum members here derided for having an ethical agenda.