HSBC boss accused of dodging responsibility in Hong Kong row
Article summary
HSBC’s boss has been accused of washing his hands of responsibility for Hong Kong dissidents after saying that he had no choice in blacklisting them. In an unusual move the bank’s chief executive Noel Quinn wrote to Ted Hui, a Hong Kong pro-democracy politician, explaining that the bank had no option but to freeze his accounts following notification from the Hong Kong police. Dozens of pro-democracy figures have been arrested since Hong Kong’s controversial national security law was imposed by Beijing last summer. […] HSBC makes most of its profits in China but has angered UK and US politicians since publicly backing the Hong Kong crackdown. […] Mr Hui had his bank accounts frozen over a month ago, when he fled Hong Kong for the UK as he feared jail in the face of a national security law investigation.
